#I sort of lost the spirit of the prompt list maybe?

[tenofmuses]

Free Witchcraft Resources for Beginners

A couple months ago I made a post shouting out the fact that witchcraft doesn’t require any money to get started (or to be practiced, for that matter), and I had a few people ask me about what they can do that’s free, especially as a beginner, so I wrote up this post. I was lost and broke when I was getting started with my craft, and it was really difficult to find tips for beginners that weren’t just “buy these things!” I’m hoping this will be useful for people who are looking for a place to begin.

So. You’re interested in witchcraft and would like to find out more. Maybe you keep seeing those “crystals/herbs/books/etc. beginner witches should have” posts, and you’re frustrated, because you want to begin your practice, but don’t have the money for those supplies. I was once in that spot, and even now that I’m five years into my practice, I have rarely purchased any of the supplies witchtok deems to be fundamental. Here are some places you can begin instead. Let’s get started!

Info continues below.

Foundations

By foundations, I’m referring to things that aren’t explicitly witchcraft, but that I have found very beneficial within my own practice.

1. Before anything, I recommend asking yourself a simple question: why do I want to practice witchcraft, and what do I hope to get out of it? You may not know for sure yet, and your answer will likely change over time, but having some intentions going in can be helpful when you’re in the early stages of research. When I was starting out, I felt very overwhelmed by the amount of info out there, so if you have a bit of an idea of what you’re specifically interested in, that can be helpful to get you going.

2. Meditation: not all witches meditate, but a lot of the skills you develop through meditation can be helpful within witchcraft. You can try out secular meditation (apps like Balance and Headspace, as well as Insight Timer—the former has a mix of secular and spiritual meditations), or you can find a witchcraft-specific guided meditation on YouTube. For neurodivergent folks out there, I recommend looking into active meditation, which I’ve found to be quite beneficial for myself.

For me, it’s always important to remain grounded when I’m doing any spiritual practice, and meditation is a good skill you can work on to help with that. I also find that having a background in meditation can be really helpful later down the line when/if you are attempting visualization and/or astral projection, witch’s flight, and so forth.

3. Journaling: another thing that isn’t specifically witchcraft-related, but is an important skill to harness, on my opinion. To me, it’s crucial to be in touch with what I’m feeling (especially when it comes to doing spellwork), and journaling is one great way to do that. If you’re stuck and don’t know where to begin, look up witchcraft (or general) journal prompts on here or somewhere else. A lot of the ones that come up will be shadow work, which can be intense, so only do what feels comfortable for you.

I’d also like to note that automatic writing/drawing is an entirely free option if you’re interested in communing with spirits or deities. Essentially it involves getting into a trance-like state (usually in a dark room only lit by candlelight or similar—this is to avoid distractions) with a piece of paper and pen, and you write or draw everything that comes to your head without thinking about it. And then you go back and see what sort of messages you may be receiving. It’s a bit hard to explain and I’m not very experienced in it myself, but it’s something worth looking into if it sounds interesting to you!

4. Look at what you have, instead of what you don’t: a lot of beginner witch resources will list specific items that you should have, without really explaining why. And without that knowledge of how/why having an item is important, you might find your Must Have crystal sitting unused on a shelf somewhere. So instead of focusing on the items you want or feel like you should have, look at what you do have. Are there plants or herbs in your house/yard that you feel drawn to? Do you have a collection of cool rocks and stones? How do these items make you feel?

For me, a large part of my craft is my belief in Animism (the belief that all living things have innate spiritual qualities, like a soul, spirit, or specific energy) and this can play into the way you interact with the natural world if it’s a belief you also subscribe to. Try and feel the presence of a plant to see if it gives you any specific feeling. It does? Great! Now you have a correspondance for that plant. And it’s even better than the correspondances you’ll get in a book because it’s based on your own personal connection and intuition. That’s what is most important.

5. When in doubt, use your intuition. You might find a source that says cinnamon should be used for protection. Another will say it should be used for abundance spells. What matters the most is what you think about an herb/plant/stone/colour, or whatever else you may utilize. I recommend to start keeping a list of what you associate these things with. It can take awhile to build up a personalized list, but once you have one, it’ll be a lot more useful than what a correspondances book says to do.

6. Scour your pantry and get cooking: are you wanting to try out a spell but you haven’t bought the ingredients? Look in your pantry. You may be surprised by how many commonly used witchcraft herbs you find in there. And if you have been starting to associate certain herbs or spices with specific feelings or energies, that’s a great way to get started with creating your own spell.

You can do a spell in many ways, but when I was starting out, one of my favourite ways was to incorporate a certain herb or spice into food I made. Say you’re making a soup and maybe you want a bit of protection, so you add some ground pepper with the intention of that pepper protecting you as you stir it into the soup. Same goes for any other ingredient you’d like to use. A little intention goes a long way!

7. Dedicate your actions, time, or energy: if you’re interested at all in working with deities, ancestors, and other spirits but don’t have the time/space to build an altar—or maybe you aren’t sure how involved you want to be with this part of witchcraft—you can devote an action to the entity. This can be simple. For example, when I worked with Apollo, I would use taking my meds and vitamins as an act of devotion to him. This is an offering. And offerings can be anything you want them to be. They don’t have to be expensive or fancy!

It’s also important to note that you do not need to work with deities or spirits to be a witch. You don’t even have to believe in them. Many witches are atheists or don’t work with any deities at all. But for those who are interested, simple offerings can be a good place to start.

8. Practice energy work: in my view, energy work is the most important skill to learn for your craft, since so many things build off of it. And with energy work, you don’t need to spend any amount of money on it. All you need is yourself, your intuition, and anything else—I mean that quite literally, you can practice feeling the energy of other people, pets, trees, buildings, foods, socks, your favourite pen, and whatever else you think of!

Once you get to know the energy of the things around you, you can more effectively utilize them as tools within your practice (this builds off of the intuition point I made earlier).

For example, as a child I lived in a house that was surrounded by cedar trees. It was a place where I felt very safe. To this day, when I see or smell a cedar tree, I feel safe and protected. You can read this any way you’d like—to me it’s both a spiritual and psychological phenomenon—but this is one example of sensing energy.

As a witch, you can practice that skill and use it to get to know the tools you’d like to use within your own craft (the things that connect to you personally, not what you’re told you should connect with). This isn’t an easy skill by any means, so if it doesn’t come naturally to you, that’s perfectly okay!

For more on this subject, I recommend two books: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer (more on animism in particular) and Psychic Witch by May Auryn (lots of exercises to practice working with and sensing energy).

Where to Go for Learning

After you’ve thought a bit about some of the above, or skipped it altogether if it doesn’t suit you, you’re probably wanting some good resources that will actually tell you how to do the witchcraft thing. But before that, I want to reiterate again that this is your practice, and you should only do what you are interested in. So take what you want and leave what you don’t.

I’m going to point you in three primary directions for learning good information: books, podcasts, and YouTube.

But first, I want to issue a massive disclaimer for the YouTube information (and some books, for that matter). You should not have one sole source for your information. Books that have bibliographies are always the most trustworthy sources. And even though I trust the information coming from the YouTubers I’ll mention—especially because I’ve read similar information in several witchcraft books—don’t take their word at face-value. Be critical of what you’re told. Believe what you believe. This is a skill you’ll learn over time. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it will get easier to discern what’s good info vs. bad info, over time.

Before you get started, I highly recommend watching this helpful video by HearthWitch with info on how to vet your witchcraft sources: link.

Books

In my view, books are the Best source of information, period. Anyone can publish an article or video online, but not everyone can publish a book. So there tends to be a bit more reliable info in witchcraft books.

As far as knowing what book you should begin with, there are lots of lists out there for beginners, and I recommend just looking at one of those lists and picking what sounds interesting to you. Take what you like and leave what you don’t.

Most of the YouTubers I’ve listed below have videos recommending books for beginners.

If you’re interested in British folk witchcraft, I started out with Folk Witchcraft by Roger J. Horne and it was a brilliant beginners guide that I recommend to anyone who is interested in that branch of witchcraft.

As always, while you read witchcraft books, be critical of the information you are presented with. Unfortunately, lots of witchcraft books (especially the classic ones) can be rooted in concepts like bioessentialism, colonialism, and racism. My recommendation is to not take any author’s word as gospel and to use your critical thinking skills when reading witchcraft books.

Where I live, books are EXPENSIVE. And when you’re just starting out in your practice, you might not have the money or ability to go out and buy a book just yet. Maybe you’re still unsure if witchcraft is right for you. Or maybe you’re in the “broom closet.” Whatever the reason, here are some free places to find books.

1. The public library: a bit obvious, but a great resource to look at, because you never know what your library might have. Libraries are the best. And entirely free!

2. Library apps like Libby or Overdrive: especially helpful if you don’t want to bring home a physical witchcraft book, or if your branch doesn’t have any copies of what you’re looking for. You can also get some audiobooks on there.

3. Archive.org: aka the web archive. Entirely free and entirely legal, this works as an online library service where you can check out a book for a bit of time right from your computer. Sometimes you can download PDFs as well. I’ve found a lot of my favourite witchcraft books on there, so if you have a specific title in mind, search it there.

YouTube

First, as a bit of a caveat before recommending you to watch YouTube videos on witchcraft: in my view, books are the best source of information for any witch, as they are able to contain a large degree of nuanced and research-informed information. But books aren’t a simple solution for everyone, and I’ve learned a lot from informed YouTubers over the years (in fact, like many witches, I was first exposed to witchcraft via Harmony Nice on YouTube!).

I’m including a list here of witch YouTubers that I personally recommend because I have found that their content aligns with information I have read in books and other research-informed sources over the years, and because I find them to be generally reliable.

I want to note here that this list is rather biased, as I tend to watch witchcraft YouTubers whose practices mirror my own in some ways. So most of these practitioners have practices informed by European folk witchcraft, and are not very diverse as a result. If any practitioners have further recommendations to add on, especially for practitioners of colour and practices that are different from mine, please do so!

My recommendations:

ChaoticWitchAunt: folk witchcraft, specifically in the Italian tradition, some great beginner content, info on working with saints and spirits.

TheWitchOfWonderlust: death magic, spellwork, great beginner content, lots of excellent info on working with spirits.

HearthWitch: truly a well of information on British witchcraft, beginner videos on any topic you can think of, q&a livestreams, and there’s even a video on vetting witchcraft sources that I really recommend for beginners.

The Redheaded Witch: folk witchcraft and folklore, spirit and ancestor work, daily witchcraft ideas, some beginner videos.

TheGreenWitch: such an excellent resource for herbal/green witchcraft, videos on spellwork, ingredients, tools, and more.

Mintfaery: lots of beginner information, videos on working with the fae, nature witchcraft, and lots of fun witchy days in the life.

Ella Harrison: German folk witchcraft, great beginner resources, including some more niche traditional craft topics like witch’s ladders.

The Norse Witch: info on Norse witchcraft and Heathenry, Norse paganism, and some content about astrology.

simplywitched: lots of great everyday witchcraft content, pagan witchcraft, more vlog style.

Warrior Witch Nike: witchy book reviews, paganism, deity work, some astrology content.

Mhara Starling: the place to go for anyone interested in Welsh witchcraft and folk magic related to Wales.

Alwyn Oak: lots of witch’s guides, especially relating to sabbats (those popularized in Wicca), forest witchcraft, gorgeous videos.

Ivy The Occultist: chaos magick and lots of interviews with practitioners from a variety of paths/backgrounds.

Shadow Harvest: personal day in the life witchy content, some videos looking at working with dark goddesses and deity work in general.

Note: some of these YouTubers have written their own witchcraft books geared towards beginners, so if you enjoy their videos and want to learn more, check those out.

Podcasts

The Astrology Podcast: not specifically witchcraft, but if you want to learn about astrology in detail, this is an excellent place to begin. Link goes to YouTube.

Books and Broomsticks: all kinds of good info, especially pertaining to folk magic, witch guests invited on to share more about their own practice. Link goes to Spotify.

Southern Bramble: A Podcast of Crooked Ways: a variety of witchcraft related topics, interviews, and discussions, often revolving around folk magic and traditional craft—interviews show different traditions. Link goes to Spotify.

New World Witchery - The Search for American Traditional Witchcraft: what it says on the tin; various topics and conversations through an American traditional/folk magic lens by the author of the (amazing) book with the same name. Link goes to Spotify.

Salty Witches Podcast by Cat & Cauldron: traditional witchcraft through a modern lens, another podcast that has a wide variety of topics covered. Link goes to Spotify.

—

As always, if anyone has any additional (free!) resources to add onto these ones, please do so.

Good luck to all of the beginner witches who are embarking on their spiritual journeys, and I hope some of these tips have been helpful! :)

-Em

#been working on this post since october first which is just crazy…it took So Long #I searched everywhere for info like this when I was a beginner but all I found were lists of things to purchase #which isn’t helpful when you’re broke and living through a recession! #I hope this hopes someone out there <3 #witchcraft resources #witchcraft 101 #witchcraft info #beginner witchcraft #witchcraft #witchblr #beginner witch #folk witchcraft #baby witch #resources #my post

[lonewolfel]

Fictober 2023 Day 2

Read on AO3 Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Prompt: 16 - "Do you know a way out of here?" Characters: Zuko, Zeisan, Aang, Sokka, Toph, Katara, Lu Ten Ship: None Warnings: Mentioned death and child abuse/neglect, Katara is mean in this Notes: Takes place after the Fire Bending Masters but before the Boiling Rock. An Au where Zuko can see ghosts.

The door slammed behind them closing them into nothing but darkness. They couldn't even make out the outline of their own hands.

"I can't see a thing here," Sokka called out.

"Neither can I," Toph said with the slightest amount of fear.

"You won't fool me this time, Toph," Sokka said after a pause.

"No really, on my feet the floor feels like stone but I can't bend it at all. I can't even feel any vibrations," Toph said.

"Zuko try to light a flame," Aang said.

Zuko lifted his hand and tried to bend but nothing happened. He could feel his inner flame but somehow it was blocked. 

Zuko felt panic rising through him. He had just gotten his flame back.

"I can't," Zuko said.

"Great once again the thing we need you to do you can't," Katara said with venom in her voice.

Zuko jumped as he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He could tell that it was Lu Ten's due to the size of the cold patch.

"Maybe I can," Aang said panic also clear in his words.

"That won't work," Zeisan said absentmindedly.

"Who said that," Katara demanded.

Zuko froze. No one has ever responded to the ghosts. Katara acknowledged Zeisan, that was something that never happened before.

"Someone," Zeisan responded amusement clear in her voice.

"Stop..." Sokka started

"Do you know a way out of here?" Aang asked.

"I do," Zeisan said.

"Great, lead the way," Sokka said.

"Oh, I can't do that," Zeisan said

"Zeisan," Zuko huffed.

There were a few sounds of confusion from the group but Zuko paid them no mind. 

"Only you can get yourselves out. This is a spiritual place," Zeisan said

"Then you can tell us how to get out on our own?" Aang asked.

"What are mortals blinded by?" Zeisan asked.

"Their sight," Toph said.

"No," Zeisan said. 

"That's a stupid riddle. Humans can literally be blinded by anything. We are even blinded by spirits right now," Sookka exclaimed.

Zuko could imagine the unimpressed look on Zeisan's face. All the while Sokka continued his rant over how fragile mortal eyesight is.

"Zuko, care to weigh in?" Zeisan said in her classic I'm so much smarter than all of you tone. Zuko frowned wishing he knew where she was so that he could glare at her.

Zuko began to think about what Zeisan said. It was clear she thought Zuko went through it. It couldn't have been when he got his scar as fire was already listed by Sokka. It was something that everyone experienced but only he could name, likely something spiritual as Zeisan seemed to be more in tune with the spiritual aspects of everything. 

"Lies," Zuko said. he wasn't sure it was right but it was better than nothing. Sokka paused his rant.

"Indeed, all mortals have lies that we tell ourselves. You must let go of those lies to move forward.," Zeisan said.

"How do we let those go?' Aang asked.

"Close your eyes and think about the lies that we tell ourselves and how they aren't true. Then take a step forward and if the spirits are satisfied they will allow you to move out of the darkness," Zeisan said.

"What if the Spirits don't allow?" Sokka demanded.

"Then you would perhaps lost to the darkness forever," Zeisan said. "Good luck."

"That mystical voice sure is ominous," Sokka said.

Zeisan was honestly one of the milder ghosts. She didn't coddle him like Lu Ten in Ta Min, but she wasn't nearly as harsh as the late Fire Lords. Not that he was going to say that as that would make him seem insane.

Granted only he was able to the ghosts and they are in some sort of spirit trap. So insane was relative.

"How did she know your name Zuko?" Katara demanded.

"She is a spirit," Aang said.

"So how do we know that she isn't leading us into a trap?" Sokka asked. 

"We can trust her," Zuko said without thinking. He knew that she wouldn't get Zuko killed as she had a plan for him not that she would ever tell him.

"Oh, now we got to trust you," Katara said harshly.

"Do you have a better plan, Sugar Queen?" Toph asked. 

That seemed to shut Katara up. Or perhaps she is making a face or rude gesture he couldn't see after all.

Zuko closed his eyes even though he knew that it would change nothing. He thought about how he used to believe that he needed his father's approval and his love. He thought about how glorious he used to think the Fire Nation was. All lies to justify the awful things he did.

Zuko wasn't going to be blinded by them anymore.

Zuko then felt Lu Ten and Zeisan's cold ghostly hand nudge him forward. 

For a split second Zuko didn't open his eyes scared that he would still be in the darkness. When he opened his eyes he saw a lit stone hallway before him. Zuko let out a sigh of relief.

He turned around and saw the darkness that he had just exited. Both Lu Ten and Zeisan stood there. Lu Ten looked relieved and Zeisan looked bored. 

"It worked," Zuko called out.

"Like we can trust you," Katara snarled. 

"You're just gonna have to," Lu Ten shot back.

There was a huff and the sound of Katara saying something that he was too far away to hear.

A shiver went down Zuko's back at the idea of Lu Ten and Katara interacting. His cousin has said many rude things about the water bender sense Zuko joined their group.

"Great another mysterious voice," Sokka said.

Toph stepped out of the darkness.

"Sparky's right it worked," Toph called out.

Aang was the next one to step out of the darkness. When Aang's eyes opened they widened in shock.

"You're an Air Acolyte," Aang gasped.

"Once," Zeisan responded.

"Air Acolyte?" Zuko asked in confusion. Zeisan was Fire Nation, she had to be in order to be his ancestor. 

Sokka chose that moment to exit the darkness. When he opened his eyes he narrowed in on Lu Ten and reached for his boomerang.

"A fire Nation soldier," Sokka growled. 

Zuko had forgotten that Lu Ten had died in his armor he was so used to his cousin's ghost that it had never crossed his mind.

Aang didn't tear his eyes off of Zeisan. Katara began to growl insults at Zuko saying he was a traitor. Toph's face scrunched up in confusion.

"I don't feel anyone but us," Toph said.

"How can you not see...oh," Sokka said sticking his foot in his mouth. 

"We," Zeisan started. She pointed at both herself and Lu Ten. " Are ghosts remains of the spirits of dead people who chose to remain instead of returning to the cycle."

"Why are you here?" Aang asked.

"Because Zuko is here," Zeisan said.

"So what Zuko has two ghosts following him?" Sokka exclaimed.

"Technically there's six of us," Lu Ten said.

"You seem oddly calm about this, Sparky," Toph said.

Everyone turned towards Zuko.

"I already knew this," Zuko admitted. 

"How?" Aang asked.

Zuko shrugged. "I've always been able to see them."

Katara let out a huff and uttered something about him being a murderer was the reason.

"Katara," Aang gasped in horror. 

"Only she can get herself out," Zeisan said.

"Do we really want her out," Lu Tel muttered. That earned the ghost a glare from Sokka. 

"I've tried everything, but nothing is working," Katara exclaimed. 

"Clearly you haven't," Zeisan said.

"If you are so knowledgable what is your lie," Katara hissed.

"That I could stop Sozin," Zeisan said.

Zuko froze and looked at her. He could tell the others were doing the same thing but he paid them no mind. 

Zeisan rarely talked about her life, not to mention he knew she was related to him in some way so that meant he was related to a traitor. 

Granted Zuko was already one but that still was an uncomfortable truth.

"Why would you want to stop Sozin?" Katara asked.

"The Air Nomads made me see the truth. I saw the corruption in the royal family. I saw the harm that we could unknowingly cause. I thought I could stop it if I was on the throne, but I had no direct claim to it, so I staged a coup and was killed."

That was more information about Zeisan than Zuko would have ever dreamed of. 

There was a moment of silence as no one seemed to know how to respond to that. Then Katara stepped forward and opened her eyes. 

She was out of the darkness.

#fictober23 #avatar the last airbender #atla #zuko #aang #katara #toph beifong #sokka #zeisan #lu ten

[flydotnet]

Can't Have Shit in Okinawa

WHUMPTOBER 2023, DAY 8: “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier.” Overcrowded ER | Outnumbered | “It’s all for nothing.”

I didn't go into this Whumptober expecting to write so much comedy or comedy-adjacent entries, but oh well, may as well embrace it now.

I took the ER prompt because all of the others sounded too… hardcore for me, I guess? I'm way too damn soft. Even then, I decided I may as well make it humorous. Not sure I'm into the spirit of Whumptober this year.

I only recently realized that I had never written anything KojiMaki in my entire life… which is weird, since would you ask me, I'd tell you they're the best romantic character dynamic in all of CT. Yeah, I know, the bar is cosmically low, but it's true, right? Good parallels, actual chemistry, agressive support… it's got it all. WY really fed us well, man. They're not my fav ship (as my stupidly high number of MatsuYoshi fics will happily demonstrate for me), but they're the best written one imho.

------------------------------

Can't Have Shit in Okinawa

Summary: It's not because your date has ended in the ER that you can't bicker about it with your partner!

Fandom: Captain Tsubasa

Word Count: 1K words

AO3 version available here.

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It’s not where their date was supposed to end; but sometimes, you simply don’t have control over what happens. Sometimes, a last-minute idea from your partner brings you a good surprise! And at others, they get hurt and you end up in a spot that’s not quite as fun.

Or, like, the complete opposite of fun.

“I thought the emergency room was meant for that. Emergencies.”

She’s lost count of how many times her boyfriend has sighed since they’ve arrived here.

“It’s meant to be, at least. You’ve never been in one before?”

He stares back at her, very much unamused.

“I was unconscious the only time I did, how was I s’pposed to know they sucked ass?!”

“It’s a well-known phenomenon! I didn’t think I’d have to explain that to you!”

“Maybe you should’ve asked before, then!”

“Where else was I going to bring you anyway?”

“I dunno, just a regular doctor would’ve been fine!”

“You were bleeding buckets, you idiot!”

“Yeah, and?”

“Well I wasn’t gonna fix that myself, now, was I?”

“You could’ve, I dunno, tried!”

“I’m no doctor!”

“It’s just a damn scrape, Maki! No need to worry so much about it!”

“It’s a bleeding gash the depth of a ping-pong ball, Kojiro!”

“That’s the weirdest comparison I’ve ever heard.” He looks around. “Oh fuck, they’re all staring at us.”

“Gee, I wonder why.”

Don’t get her wrong, she loves him to bits, but her boyfriend is the loudest person on Earth. Oh, and also, he’s a world-famous soccer player. As in, “outstanding name in a list of outstanding names” famous. The guy is a world champion and stuff. That may not help much, in their case, because it did not grant them a priority queue, and also, people do stare at them. A lot.

The ER, as the legend foretold, is cramped and overcrowded. There are people who are here for all sorts of stuff, from terrifying bug bites the size of a softball glove to what Maki can only assume to be people who should’ve just to their local pharmacy. There’s always at least one of those and they will always get called before you, the legend also says.

Among the things Maki has in common with her boyfriend, one of them is a natural knack for impatience. She hates standing in one spot and waiting for things to happen. Powerlessness is an annoyance at best and a deep-rooted phobia at worst. Right now, luckily, it’s just a lot of annoyance at things being horrible, frigidly slow.

In short: the ER, with its awfully slow pace and dozens of people screaming, crying or even chatting very loudly on their phones, is stuff of nightmares for her. If she was here all on her own, a part or her would be terrified, yes – on the other hand, she happens to be here with someone else, who barely seems to care that they have to be there waiting on uncomfortable plastic chairs to begin with.

She glances back at Kojiro. He seems mildly bothered by everything around him, the now rust-coloured towel still on his thigh. Occasionally, he takes a sharp inhale mostly through his right nostril and looks even more mildly bothered. People are still staring at him.

“That stupid thing’s stopped bleeding anyway,” he says as he leans back. “Can we go back to your place, now? Fuck this ER shit, I can do a zig-zag stitch too.”

A mother with her snot-filled kid is glaring at him, her face oh so offended.

“You’re not for real, right?”

He now actually looks displeased.

“What? Do I look so, I dunno, like a brute that I can’t sew?”

“That’s not what I said! I’m just sayin’, you’re no doctor, so don’t stitch your own wounds close!”

Kojiro responds to that by getting his phone out.

“Eh, whatever. There’s probably a tutorial for that on YouTube.”

Maki can only gawk at him. That guy is considered the cream of the crop in his category but man can he be awfully stupid. She loves him for all of his highs and lows, but he’s really dense as a brick when he wants to. Also, for all of his ranting about his friends from the national team being self-sacrificing idiots, he has the tendencies as well.

Actually, come to think of it… Maybe if she tips the scales, she could make him realize how bad it’s getting. That’s what couples do, right? Communicate. They communicate so things don’t explode in a big ball of fire.

“Hey… Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

The woman with the snotty kid are called. Their turn may finally come soon; which, God, not too soon. The air here is stale, cramped and overall suffocating.

“If I was gonna do the same thing to you, which is having a bleeding gash the depth of a ball and say it’s no biggie, I’m gonna stitch it myself, what would you do?”

Now, he looks downright pissed.

“Why’re you even askin’ me that? It’s damn obvious!” His shoulders rise even further. “I’m bringin’ you to the hospital no questions asked!”

“Yeah, that makes sense, right?” She pokes his chest. “So why won’t you get it through your thick skull, hmmm?”

His anger changes into surprise.

“Dammit.”

“See? Not hard to understand! I’m worried and I don’t want you hurt even further, so be a good lil’ kitty and stay put until we get called!”

“Did you just call me a kitten because of my—”

“I’ll call you a tiger again when you’re back on your feet and not profusely bleeding in my backyard!” She breathes out and tries calming down as best as she can. “I know it’s annoying, I don’t like being here either, but it’s for your own good, I swear. And, if you don’t wanna think about yourself… then think your mom would be much more reassured to know you got to see a doctor and got it stitched right!”

He scratches the back of his neck a little sheepishly.

“You’re right there, I guess.”

“I just know you, after a while!” She leans against him. “You should stop being all rough like that. You’re supposed to also lean on me when you need help.”

He leans back in the other direction, his head softly landing on top of hers.

“…Yeah.”

Eventually, a nurse comes and calls their names – finally.

#whumptober 2023 #no.8 #overcrowded er #captain tsubasa #fic #kojimaki

[edisacornball]

Leaping Lavender Love

This is my AI collab series! I have a list of short writing prompts. I put a prompt into an AI image generator to see what it creates. I then write a short story where I try to tie the prompt and the image together as much as possible.

Today's Prompt: Leaping, Love, Lavender

---

Memories were a funny, fragmented thing. He had always found it funny when he'd listened to his grandparents recount some of their memories. Some moments would be exactly the important sorts of memories he would expect people to remember. Sometimes they were big, important events going on in the world, like getting the news about a war starting. Sometimes it would be about when a big hardship shook the family, like when someone had lost a job, or when tragedy meant they had to grieve someone too soon. Sometimes the important times were exactly what you hoped for, though, like a wedding, or the joyful addition of a new child. 

Some moments almost felt more like they were facts of life rather than a specific memory. It was more like his grandparents were remembering the feeling as a whole rather than any one specific time. When his grandmother would recount how his grandfather had brought home lavender every Friday since their wedding, he didn't think that she was remembering anyone, specific time, because it was just a routine. But it was a nice routine. His grandmother had obviously delighted in the fresh flowers, delighted in how his grandfather would come home celebrating that he would get to spend a whole weekend at home. She remembered facing each new week with the smell of lavender lifting her spirits and reminding her of his love, and it would make the work week easier. All because she got to spend a few days just enjoying the presence of someone who made her soul sing.

And then finally, there were the moments that were somehow both. There would be a moment where they weren't doing anything special, per se, and yet the memory had stuck out to them enough that it had changed them forever. These were always the memories that felt shocking to hear. Because he could recount most of the big event memories word for word himself. But the specific-yet-mundane moments would be something so stunningly ordinary, and yet important enough that they would remember that particular moment. And yet, these still weren't the moments his grandparents would countlessly recount. He thought maybe it was because the big events were what everyone thought everyone else wanted to hear, that no one would care about an ordinary moment from an ordinary day. And yet, that ordinary moment was important enough that they had been going over the memory in their own head for years, even if they didn't tell anyone. 

When his grandmother had said his grandfather brought home lavender every week, it had seemed so ordinary that he didn't even think to question it for the longest time. That was just what grandpas did for grandmas, he figured. But then he could remember one of his friends pointing out that it was strange, because it wasn't like lavender was available in every single shop. Why lavender? Why every single week? Why did it matter?

So when he next visited his grandparents, he decided to ask the almighty "why" himself. 

His grandmother had replied that she had never really thought too much about it, she had always just assumed it was his favorite flower or that he liked the way the bouquet made the house smell.

But his grandfather had chimed in with a completely different reason, explaining that when they had gone on their honeymoon to France, his grandmother had insisted on seeing the lavender fields. His grandfather hadn't been particularly keen on the idea, it was hot, and out of the way, and took more planning than he cared for just to see a field of millions of the same flower. But his grandmother had been so excited about the lavender fields that his grandfather had decided to just go along with what she wanted in order to keep the peace.

"And when we got there, it was exactly as boring as I thought it would be!" his grandfather had said, wheezing out a laugh and slapping at his knee."But your grandma, oh, Bee was so excited she was practically skipping down those rows of flowers. Leaping and dancing and skipping through that lavender. Every time she swished her skirt around, it would hit more flowers and make the air even more perfumed! And I knew. I knew then." 

His grandfather had paused then, stroking at the hair on his chin, his eyes looking lost in somewhere far away from there. 

"I knew then that all the planning, the heat, the boring flowers... It didn't matter. Because what mattered was her. What mattered was here was this beautiful woman who I loved... Happy as she could be. And smiling and laughing at me through those flowers, well. She looked like an angel on earth. And it was then that I knew I wanted to spend as much of my life trying to make her as happy as I had then. So I brought home lavender every week. Just to see her smile."

His grandfather had created a beautiful everyday routine memory for his grandmother, all because of a special memory she had created for him without realizing it. Memories were a funny, fragmented thing.

About the Project Image created with Midjourney All / First / Previous / Next Kofi

#AI collab series #i made this

[angst-fairygodmother]

*rubs hands together* Might I request “Can I have this dance?” for Valdo x Reader? (if not I’ll gladly take Jaskier x Reader lol)

A/N: I cannot even begin to explain the grin on my face from this request. I can only hope the result pleases.Word Count: 1848 (a lovely vintage)Rating: T (maybe M?)Content Warning: light angst, implied smut 

Valdo Marx was seething. The invitation from the king of Cidaris to play at the prince’s birthday made sense. After all, he was the “Troubadour of Cidaris” and quite famously known. And then when he arrived, he was given this…this insult, this disgrace. It was not the ballroom or even the banquet hall that he was playing. He was shoved in the back corner of some cramped study, playing the same three ballads over, and over, and over for a bunch of stuffy intellectuals, who didn’t even appreciate his talent and were talking over him.

“Minstrel!” one of the black-robed philosophers said, snapping at him like a dog. “Come here.”

He snarled, considering not answering, or responding with a swift strike to the man’s face. But he had a reputation to uphold and would not be seen as undignified, so he set his violin carefully aside on the red-cloth draped table and walked over to the man.

“Don’t you think it’s time to take a break?” the man – Harilad of Rissberg, Valdo recognized – said, making it clear in his tone that the comment was not truly meant as a suggestion.

Valdo reeled back, shocked and trying to school his face back into calm. He glanced around the room at all of the chattering men, most unaffected by the absence of “ambiance” and some even looking relieved.

“Pardon me sir?” he asked quietly, feigning confusion as to Harilad’s meaning.

“To be frank young man, we are attending this ridiculous party out of obligation, and trying to take advantage of the fact that we have been granted leave to gather together outside the insipid peacocking of the main events. Your continuous shrieking on that thing may pass to the masses as music but it is unwanted here.”

Valdo felt his heart drop and he swallowed down the urge to rise to the bait.

“Yes, good man,” another man said, not even bothering to look up from the chess game he was engaged in. “Our debating is much easier without the noise.”

‘Noise?! It was music!’ He flushed angrily. ‘Good music! His performances were praised by emperors, by other artists, by a fae queen! And he dared to call it “noise”?!’

He turned on his heel, collecting his instrument and all but stormed out of the room, letting the door slam closed behind him deliberately. Looking around the hall, he saw that there were not many people passing, for which he was quite thankful. He felt…less than put together and did not want to be seen like this. With a heavy sigh, he leaned against the wall not far from the door and closed his eyes. He felt his world spinning, a familiar but long suppressed feeling of self-doubt bubbling up in his chest.

~

You had been looking for Valdo all night. Rumor had circled that the king had summoned all of the greatest bards from around the continent for the prince’s coming of age, so obviously he would be in attendance, somewhere. The problem was that quite a few different rooms had been opened, each with a different theme or purpose and you didn’t have the time to look through every one of them for him.

It had been many long weeks since you’d seen him, leaving a strange pseudo-relationship between you when you had parted ways. You hadn’t wanted, but you were a baroness’s personal servant, and had to follow your mistress when she went on a long progress touring her lands, and Valdo’s commissions were taking him in a different direction, and unfortunately, timing had meant that you hadn’t been able to say a proper goodbye.

Following the sounds of violin, Valdo’s preferred instrument for courtly performances, you wandered into a room draped in fine gauzy cloths and filled with a sweet-smelling smoke. You coughed, fanning the air in front of your face ineffectually to try and clear the air so you could better breathe. The room was populated by people who lay in hedonistic recline and various states of undress. Nearly naked dancers undulated and swayed for the lounging guests, and a heated blush crawled across your face and neck.

Even squinting through the haze you could not make out the face of the resident musician and silently willed yourself to move closer. Hands brushed against yours invitingly, trying to coax you to join them on couches and divans, moving bodies pressed toward you in a tease. You swallowed thickly. Finally getting a good look, you sighed, almost in relief that the curly haired and clearly embarrassed young man was not Valdo, and quickly fled the room.

You continued down the hall, frustration building as you passed room after room with no sound of strings.

‘Where was he?’ you wondered. ‘Was it possible that he had in fact not attended? Or perhaps he has found a distraction in someone other than me.’ The thought made your gut twist in an unfamiliar way. The pair of you had mostly flirted, only once exchanging a heated kiss, both wine-drunk and dizzy, in a broom closet after one of your mistress’s banquets. He likely didn’t even know you would be at the celebration. There was no reason to believe he would wait or seek you.

Just as you were considering giving up and returning to the baroness’s side for the rest of the night (despite her insistence that you were attending as her guest and should enjoy the night off), you spotted someone seated against the curve of a corner, head in their hands, fingers buried in familiar dark curls. His doublet was rumpled, the rich blue velvet riding up in the back to expose a black undershirt, as if he had slid down into his current position.

“Valdo?” you asked softly, kneeling beside him in concern, hoping that he would not be angry at the disturbance.

He looked up at you, lips parted softly in surprise. “Y/N? I…I didn’t expect you to be here.”

You quirked an eyebrow at him as if to ask if he seriously believed that a Cidarian noble would skip such an important and prestigious event. He chuckled, the sound tinged with unhappiness and you frowned.

“What’s…what’s wrong?” you asked hesitantly.

“Everything.” He tilted his head back to rest against the stones and stare up at the ceiling. “I’ve been made an utter fool by men half in the grave. They called my performance noise, and shrieking!”

You felt a bubble of rage rising up in you. “Well obviously they have no taste. Or they’re morons. Those are the only explanations.”

“Some of the most brilliant and renowned scholars in the world were in that room, Y/N.”

“Oh good, so they wouldn’t know decent music if it bit them.”

He rolled his head to stare at you, intense green eyes boring into you.

You shifted uncomfortably at the attention but plowed onward. “You are the Valdo Marx. A lyrical genius. Master of three instruments, four if you count that weird box thing you showed me—“

“Hurdy-gurdy,” he interrupted softly and you stuck your tongue at him.

“As I was saying…you have more talent in your left little finger than they could collectively dream of possessing. If they would dismiss you then they don’t deserve you. For that matter, if the king would push you off to a side room, he doesn’t either.”

Your eyes flashed with a passionate fire as you praised him, and Valdo found himself awed by it. For all that he had been complimented and flattered throughout his illustrious career, none of them has ever struck him the way yours did now.

“Thank you, Y/N. That’s very kind.” He rolled his eyes at the flatness of the statement, not nearly enough to express what he was feeling. Still, you blushed, looking down at your knees which you had tucked up to your chest at some point during the conversation.

The pair of you sat in an awkward silence, both unsure of the other’s intentions or where to go from here. With the quiet, you were able to catch the opening strains of one of your favorite reels drifting out from the ballroom. On an impulse you seized Valdo’s hand, pulling him to his feet and toward the sound.

As you led him through the doors and turned to face him, he cast you a questioning look.

“Since we both have the rest of the night free, and this is one of my favorite songs, and it might cheer you some…can I have this dance?” you asked, holding yourself, waiting expectant and hopeful, in the starting position.

Smirking, he fitted himself against you, far closer than was strictly necessary. “It would be my great pleasure.”

As you spun in great whorls across the floor with the other dancers, your gazes were intent, lost in each other. When the steps called for you to part, your hands lingered reluctantly, and when you came back together you felt his grip flex, pressing you teasingly closer. The dance required him to lift you into the air and you flushed, swearing that you felt his mouth brush against your stomach when he did.

Unable to resist any longer, as your feet planted on the ground again in a little stomp, you threaded your fingers into his soft hair and pulled his mouth to meet yours. He returned the kiss with vigor, teeth gliding against your lower lip. You parted for him with a low groan as he tasted and explored your mouth, memorizing every inch.

Pulling away breathlessly, he looked at you with a heated intensity that made you shiver.

“You mentioned having the whole night?” he whispered, lips brushing the curve of your ear.

You nodded, lost for words and he grinned wolfishly.

“Then what do you say we continue this dance somewhere more private?”

Suddenly remembering the room the baroness had secured for you upstairs, you nodded, taking his hand and leading him, a coquettish sway to your hips.

~

The next morning, you awoke alone, the other side of the bed cold. You felt your heart drop, ashamed that you had let him get to you so completely (but in no way regretting the impassioned tangle) only to have him slip away.

Sitting up, you rubbed the sleep from your face and swung your feet out of bed. When the blanket shifted, a folded paper fluttered to the floor, your name written in graceful calligraphy across it. Opening it you read,

My dear Y/N,

Last night was truly special. And waking beside you, seeing you in the pre-dawn was a sight I will not forget. I will cherish you and these memories in my heart. I regret that I could not say goodbye or stay, but I am summoned to Oxenfurt and I dare not miss the performance, so I had to depart quickly. I had not planned for my night to contain such a wonderful distraction.

I pray that I will see you again soon, and if it is at another ball, that I can have a dance?

Yours,

Valdo Marx

#Valdo Marx x Reader #The Witcher #The Witcher fic #Valdo Marx #reader insert #my first request! #oh this was a lot of fun #send me more! I'm on a roll #I sort of lost the spirit of the prompt list maybe? #also when I started writing I was not planning it to go here #but here is where it ended up and I am quite content #sorry I went with the fade to black #but Constitutional Law does not exactly inspire 'the mood' #also I'm not good at smut #I've only ever written it once and it was an accident #shit...you made me fall in love with this smarmy bastard and he's not even really a character #...or I made me fall in love with this smarmy bastard? #I dunno I just know I love him and I hate it

[minsyal]

The Fugitive (Finding Home), Pt. 1

Karl Heisenberg x Reader

Warnings: strong language, Resident Evil-esque violence and descriptions of gore, and dark/sexual themes

Summary: A once-in-a-lifetime trip turned dark. You're quickly exposed to the sinister and mysterious world of a cursed village under the control of dark leaders. How long will you last and will you ever return home in one piece?

Backpacking through Eastern Europe was not a top priority on your “to do” list. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Being one to preplan everything, you were completely caught off guard when your roommate sprung the idea of the trip out of the blue. You roommate, Jezebel Haine, was your first and only roommate from college onward. All legs, she was one of the stars of the track team but was most certainly not one of the brightest shining ones. She was considerably dim-witted, fanatical, and had a booming over-the-top personality that scared every potential boyfriend who had the disservice of meeting her. There were times, though, that she was rather endearing. Her childlike sense of self and emotional drivers consistently put her at a crossroads between what everyone else was doing and what she should be doing; she was, and always will be, a follower.

After four years of becoming “the bestest of friends,” you had a hard time imagining such a hard shift either into another roommate or living alone. Plus, her parents funded most everything she did and, in turn, funded the apartment the two of you shared.

“It’s an amazing opportunity!” She insisted, waving her hands in a simple manner as she rose from the condensed cushion of the leather-clad couch. “Think about it.” Gathering your hands in hers like a 20’s actress who had just met the man of her dreams, she pulled the bundle to her chest. “We frolic through the European countryside, it’s golden hour. My skin looks absolutely gorgeous… yours too, of course. The sun is just about to set, but alas!” She let out a dramatic gasp, removing one of her hands to cover her mouth. “It’s growing dark out!”

“That’s what happens when the sun sets.” You noted, causing her to drop the act for a moment only to immediately go back into character.

“We hear the crunching of leaves and twigs all around us as if something…” she drew close and lowered her voice to a whisper, “sinister is coming. Out of no where we’re ambushed! By what, I’m not sure. Then,” her eyes became glassy as she lay a delicate hand to her forehead, “two absolute studs… and I’m talking big bulging muscles, gorgeous trendy hair, captivating eyes… really everything a simple girl could ask for… seemingly drop from the sky! We’re saved!” She throws your hands into the air as if they’d fall like confetti. Drawing both her arms in, she sways back and forth in a waltz of one. “We’d be married by the next day! Hell, maybe we’d even end up as princesses.”

Oh, how utterly wrong she was.

“I told you this was a stupid idea.” You groaned, haughtily holding your chin up while feeling your spirits low. A few miles back, on an asphalt road that quickly turned to dirt, sat the dingy red rental truck with a blown out engine and a deflating tire. With no cell service and the last town being over 100 miles back, your only choice was to walk.

“Don’t blame me!” Jezebel stopped walking, feet falling flat to the ground as she stomped her foot in a childish manner. “I,” her lip quivered as all the anger held in her body dissipated, “I just wanted to have a fun time with you.” Big tears flowed from her eyes quickly after finishing her proclamation, leaving smearing black lines down her face from the eyeliner she insisted was necessary in the Romanian countryside. God, if her parents weren’t funding this trip, you’d throw a fit for your money back.

“Jess, just,” reaching backward, you fished a rag from your backpack, “don’t cry. That’s not going to make this better.” Sniffling, she accepted the rag and wiped her eyes, further smearing black all over her face. You couldn’t help but feel a shred of sympathy for her. “Let’s just keep going. No use in wasting daylight. I really don’t want to get caught out here in the dark.”

“Where are we supposed to go, then?”

“I’m sure the next town will have some sort of inn or hotel. At the very least, they’ll have directions to the nearest city.”

After another five miles of walking, the sun was beginning to set and no gorgeous studs were waiting to save you. The blazing yellow ball inched slowly beyond the horizon. Its warming rays that had kept the snow from freezing the two of you in the day crept down below the snow peaked mountains that were nestled in the distance. Shadows began dancing between the trees, sending the forest into a theater of silent performers. The dirt road that was once large enough for two cars was now only a walking path so slim that Jezebel had to follow on your heels. Every now and again you were reeled back by the piece of rope that she had attached to your backpack that was firmly gripped in her hand. She claimed it made her feel safer.

“You think those two hunks are going to come save us now?” You joked, attempting to make light of this dark situation.

“I wish.” She huffed, frustration evading her voice as exhaustion took center stage.

Flickering light caught your eye. Hues of yellow and red mingled together in the distance, the outlines of rooftops and smoke-filled chimneys littered the ground below. “I think that’s a village.”

Another mile of downhill travel was all it took to reach the place where the once distant flickering of torches and lanterns grew into the quiet streets of a cluttered settlement. There was no clear indication of movement once you stepped foot in the village; the only evidence of any life came in the form of fresh boot prints, livestock, and the ever-blazing lanterns. Jezebel was all to happy to release your makeshift leash from her fingers, trotting mindlessly by to examine the street corners and homes. Your eyes continued wandering up the rooftops, finally landing upon the eerie looming castle situated on the mountainside above.

From around the bend, you heard Jezebel screech.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” You threw caution to the wind, quickly rounding the corner to scold her like a parent would to a misbehaving child. “You don’t know if these people are violent or not. We can’t just go parading ourselves into the town center.”

“I think they’re violent.” She mustered the shaky words. Her hands covered her eyes and the majority of her face as she backed away from whatever had caused her distress.

“What?” The unpleasant squelch of snow beneath your feet caused your attention to draw downward. Dark snow surrounded your boot, an unnatural red hue stained the pure white. Gaze moving upward, your chest restricted feeling as if it had crushed inward on itself. The putrid smell finally fell upon your nostrils as you backed away from the scene. Severed animal heads hung lazily above you, their tongues flopping from their opened mouths.

“I want to go home.” Jezebel sobbed, rasping her cries into her cupped hand. Shaking her head as if to knock this moment from her brain, her short-lived façade of curiosity gave way to her immediate feeling of impending dread.

“That’s what I’m trying to do right now, Jess. Just, calm down.”

A low grumble had you standing further on edge, if that was possible at this point. The sound was clear as day and was anything but human. You weren’t even sure a human could get to an octave so low without the help of technology. Eyes darting upward once more, a chill ran from your shoulders to your toes.

Hauntingly yellowed eyes lingered upon the two of you. The beast-like figure was silhouetted by the moonlight, outlined like a ghost. It looked to be a man, but also anything but a man in the same sense. Its mouth was parted, baring old rotted teeth that looked to have dried blood caked between its gums. Its hands were bloodied as well, small cuts were painted across its forearms only hidden by the rags that clung to its chest.

Before you could process the situation, Jezebel let out another yelp. In an instant, the beast lunged down from its perch, landing with a ground shaking thud nearly five feet before you. “No!” Jezebel’s open palm collided with the space between your shoulder blades as she pushed you toward the monster. The last thing you saw was her backpack falling to the ground as she began running toward one of the homes. You landed face-first in the snow, groaning as all the air in your lungs were forced out. The beast snarled, once again showing its teeth as it hunched down to your level. This was, most certainly, not the way you envisioned dying. Things like this weren’t supposed to exist; this is myth, this isn’t real. It all felt like bad dream gone worse that you couldn’t wake from.

“Pesky creatures, aren’t they?” A new voice called out as the horrendous sound of metal crushing bone and muscle slithered through your ears. The disgusting feeling of gore instantly trickled down your hands. “Please,” the voice continued, “feel free to thank me anytime.”

A moment later, the stranger let out a scoff with the squishy suction of whatever he had used to quiet the monster. The tap of a boot on your elbow finally prompted you to uncover your eyes. “Or don’t.”

“I,” you started, opening and closing your mouth multiple times unable to find the right words, “thank you.”

“Oh.” He tiled the stiff rim of his frayed hat back, exposing a pair of circular sunglasses perched upon his nose. “Foreigners, eh?”

“Yeah, um.” You gathered yourself, finally pushing up to stand on your feet. “We got lost.”

“And ended up here, no doubt.” A stifled chuckle left his lips as he tilted his hat back in place and swung whatever he used to kill the beast over his shoulder. “If I were you, I’d get the hell out of here.”

Without another word, the stranger sauntered off with a backward wave of his hand. “Oh, and have someone clean this mess up.”

“Y/n!” Jezebel’s shrill voice called as she returned with a rather confused villager. He held a shotgun with both of his hands, Jezebel shone a flashlight in your eyes.

“Are you okay?” The villager moved forward with extreme caution after peering around you dumbfoundedly seeing the crumpled body.

“I’m fine, no thanks to her.” You spat, anger swelling in your throat causing a particular acidity to your words.

“All of you! Inside this instant.” A matronly holler came from behind Jezebel and the villager. “You know Miranda’s protection only runs so far as we grow closer to this time.”

Who is Miranda and, more importantly, who was the man who saved you?

The home you were ushered into was on the outskirts of town. It was one of the larger estates given the fact that some people seemed to live in one-room shacks. Upon entering, you were greeted with the warm glow of yellow light trickling in from what looked to be a formal living room. The sweet aromas of honeyed tea wafted through the air, drawing further in as the woman led the three of you deeper into the home. What was worse? You pondered. Being killed by that beast or potentially being murdered by the inhabitants of this home? You couldn’t decide. Thus far, the two gave no indication of malice.

“Please, sit.” The woman pulled out two of the chairs at her table, the wood scratching against the floor. “I’ll fetch the tea.”

Jezebel was so brainless. She smiled at you as if she hadn’t just offered you up as a midnight snack. Surely there was no hamster running on that squeaky track that powered her.

“What was that thing?” You turned to the man who was now seated to your right. “The monster.”

The man ignored your question, instead grabbing a piece of rounded bread from the plate at the center of table. Slathering butter on it, he looked to you. “How’d you kill it?”

“I didn’t.” You frowned, recalling the mysterious man who saved your life without even dropping his name. The villager raised his brows and kicked his foot up on the table. He was waiting for more information. “Some man came out of nowhere. He had some hammer-like weapon.”

As soon as he processed the words, his foot fell from the table and he leaned forward, uncomfortably close. You could smell the distinguishable bite of alcohol percolate from his lips. “Did he wear glasses? A hat?”

“He did.” The words slowly drifted from your mouth. “Hair to about here.” You motioned to the halfway point of your neck.

“Adelina,” the man called, presumably to the woman who guided you inside. He got up quickly, rushing to the other room leaving you and Jezebel alone.

“What the hell is going on here?” You whispered in a harsh tone, leaning forward to get closer to her. “Is this not weird at all to you?”

“I think they’re nice people.” Jezebel responded at full volume without a second of thought.

“That’s coming from someone who tried to feed their supposed best friend to a monster.”

“I was buying us time to get help.”

“Help? I almost died!”

“But you didn’t.”

“When we get back to the U.S. I never want to speak to you again.” You seethed. How could she be this bad? You knew there were a few… a considerable amount of screws missing from Jezebel, but how in God’s green earth does she justify her actions at this point? The thought of it accompanied by her dazed and empty stare only fueled the fire of anger more.

“Dear,” the woman, who you now knew was Adelina, reentered the room accompanied by the man with a tray of cups and a kettle in her hands. She set a delicate china glass in front of you, softly filling it with a reddish colored liquid that she assured you was Celestial Seasonings, a tea imported from Africa. “I hear that you’ve met Lord Heisenberg.” Placing a hand over her heart, she gave a warm smile that only sent another wave of dread through your body. There was something so alluring about this woman, yet so sinister.

“Lord, who?”

Adelina stiffened, craning her neck to the side as she plastered a forced smile upon her lips once more. You had upset her, that much was obvious. “One of the four Lords that rule here alongside our dear Mother Miranda.” She explained, pushing the cup of tea closer to your body. Jezebel had already finished her first glass. Warily, you lifted the cup in your hand and allowed the warm water to heat your frozen body. An elongated finger pointed to the framed painting that hung to the wall. “Mother Miranda protects us here.”

Mother Miranda. You could only focus on the image of the woman silhouetted by six black wings and a halo outlining her head. Her eyes were indistinguishable behind the raven-like mask that clung to her face. Adorned in a black garb, she looked to be a holy figure in this town. But like Adelina, something just wasn’t right with Miranda.

The unsettling reverb of crickets and cicadas chirping grew louder and louder with each passing hour. You counted the seconds between waves of mass chorus; so far, it was roughly thirty seconds between each bleating scream of their nightly tune. You couldn’t sleep. Despite the somewhat comforting, but entirely unsettling welcome given by Adelina and Marion, you couldn’t help but feel like a caged animal in the tiny cupboard room they had given you. A curious thought tickled the back of your mind, willing you to remain as alert as possible after an exhausting day of hiking; where had they put Jezebel? Not that you particularly cared at this point. After the attack she had done a 180, dropping all suspicion of malice in this village. She simply flushed the pictures of hanging heads and wild beasts from her memory. You sometimes envied her lackadaisical memory accompanied by a fanatical view of the world. Living blissfully ignorant, especially in a situation like this, seemed to serve her best.

After a small dinner of fish that smelled of ammonia, of which you politely picked at, Adelina insisted the two of you stay the night. “The beasts will return!” She exclaimed, holding a firm hand over the intricately carved wood of the doorframe. “Early tomorrow we can arrange for a car to pick you up from the next town over.” Hushed murmurs climbing up from the cracked floors pulled you from your thought. The voices spoke in an incomprehensible argument.

“I’d quite like to keep...” the words faded in and out.

“No, no, no. Don’t be ridiculous...”

“What if....”

The floor spoke a soft squeak from beneath your feet as you shifted to get closer to the voices. Their conversation stopped, and you waited with bated breath for it to continue.

“We have to offer someone up tomorrow.” It was Adelina.

“I know, I know.” Marion sounded frustrated. “But you know Mother Miranda prefers only the purest. How are we supposed to know if either of them are-”?

The words faded once more as the two moved from room to room. Walking on the sides of your feet, you followed. Peeking around the corner, your eyes landed on Adelina and Marion illuminated by a flickering fire. They stood close to one another, keeping their tones low.

“Clearly, we offer the frumpy one. Take a look at her. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s unexperienced.” Adelina snickered, taking a seat on the worn couch with her back to you. “She wouldn’t fit in here anyway.”

“The dumb one would get along nicely with our son.”

“I agree.”

A knock at the front door sent a shiver of adrenaline down your spine. Quickly scrambling to hide, you took in a deep breath as Marion passed by with his shotgun in hand. From the parted door, you could see the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Had it really been that long already?

“Are you sure she’s pure?” The new man stood in the doorway rushed past Marion, looking in the direction of the room they had put you in.

“I suppose we could check.” Adelina called, rising to join the others. “The both of them had that tea. They shouldn’t wake until the ceremony later today.”

“Is she in there?”

“Yes, the other one is upstairs.”

“Let’s check this one first.”

With heavy footsteps falling upon the rotting floorboards of the somewhat dilapidated home, you slunk further into the shadows of the room behind you. The glint of something metal caught your attention; a small handgun sat perfectly on a dresser as if set there intentionally for you to find. Holding your breath, you crept forward to it. You’d never shot a gun in your life, but you knew the basics... both hands, check for ammo, rack the slide, pull the trigger. At least, that’s what the movies told you.

“Out of bed so soon, are we?” The soft voice turned malevolent as Adelina appeared in the doorway of the room. “I wouldn’t use that if I were you.” She motioned to the gun that was aimed rather unskillfully for her chest.

“What the fuck is going on in this village?” You spoke with purpose now, tone wavering slightly as Marion stepped behind his wife.

“You don’t understand things around here, girl.” Adelina spat, moving aside as Marion began charging into the room. The loud blast of the gun echoed from the walls of the home followed by a harsh curse and the sound of a body crumpling to the floor. You had shot Marion in the leg; he’d live.

“No,” you started, re-racking the slide as Adelina’s other friend approached wielding a similar gun to your own. Adrenaline washed over your nervous system, your hands shook violently, but you attempted to remain composed. “You’re the one who doesn’t understand. This isn’t normal! Tell me what’s going on now or,” your eyes trailed down to Marion who was attempting to control the flow of blood from his wound.

“You wouldn’t.” She laughed bitterly.

“Like hell, I wouldn’t.” You exclaimed, training the gun onto her. “Now tell me, what’s happening here.”

“You’ll understand soon enough.” Adelina’s friend’s words were the last thing you heard before your ears rang and the sting of a bullet burnt white hot in your shoulder. You weren’t sure if your gun ever went off again.

Despite being tied, bathed, dressed, and currently sitting on a freezing alter-of-sorts, you still hadn’t the slightest clue as to what was going on. A crowd of villagers surrounded from the south, all carrying on with a rumble of conversation. Adelina shot daggers at you, Marion as well, from a small, inclined hill at the edge of the crowd. The clothes you wore were your own, she had fished through your backpack claiming that it was of no use to waste a nice dress on “someone like her.” Jezebel was likely still fast asleep at their house.

A woman with the likeness of the framed photo you had seen appeared out of nowhere. So, this was the famous Mother Miranda that everyone regarded so deeply. She stood before you as the crowd’s voices hushed and their eyes became hazed with looks of admiration and devoted appreciation. Surely, she was a human, deities and gods didn’t exist in a physical form, you assured yourself.

Without a word, Miranda moved gracefully as if flowing across the ground to stand before Adelina. Taking her face between her hands, she whispered what you assumed to be praise as Adelina’s lips moved rapidly thanking Miranda. She then moved to Marion and grazed her hand against the wound on his thigh, speaking of how his steadfast devotion would quickly heal any injuries of cruelty spread by evil. When her attention finally fell back to you, she frowned. Stalking around you in circles, Miranda’s imposing figure made you want to shrivel to nothingness.

“Thank you.” She turned to the villagers as if to dismiss them. “When the time comes, I will return for another.”

The black wings you had seen in the photo sprouted from her back, shielding your sight of the villagers as they retreated to their homes. Hopeful cries and shouted blessings to Miranda echoed from the crowd as the village gate slammed. The only evidence of them once populating this empty square were flowers and offerings of fruit and grain left for the supposed goddess.

The world swiftly darkened once more.

Part 2 - Paths Meet

I promise there's more Heisenberg in the next part..

Feedback is always appreciated

#karl heisenberg #heisenberg x reader #karl heisenburg x reader #resident evil village #resident evil heisenberg #re8 heisenberg #heisenberg imagine #lord heisenberg

[deviltoys]

― this is my first time requesting so let's hope i don't fuck this up [lmao].

taking tobio's [who's the pastor's son] virginity and watching him ask for forgiveness for doing something so inappropriate in the church but then you proceed to degrade him. 🙇

— ‘𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝗼𝘄𝘀.’

tobio kageyama x top!male reader. (wc; ?)

#a/n: stop. this is my favorite request, ever. virginity loss ‘n blasphemy??? hello? too fuckin’ good, been cravin’ a good virgin tobio. thank you fer’ this, it was perfect!

warings. NSFW CONTENT, MINORS DNI, virginity loss, sacrilege, taboo acts, incest, age gap (18-30), pastor!reader, exhibitionism, sex in a church, misusage of the bible, religious speak, little to no prep, dumbification, creampie, degrading, manipulation, corruption, belly bulge, daddy k.

juvenile ministry took up a huge chunk of the church you operated. being the father to tobio kageyama, it was only natural that he was a frequent volunteer for the group of children who'd visit you both to be taught the righteous laws of god.

your boy was so doting with kids, it lay a smile across your lips to see him so devoted as you'd help demonstrate an array of practices to the youth. he was an apprentice of some sort— you two had a closely knit relationship when it came to chruch work.

almost a little too close.

nobody would ever suspect a thing, right? their nurturing pastor and his passionate son; they wouldn't dream of commiting any corrupt acts against the lord they so dearly fawned about.

the children certainly wouldn't know, such mindless followers. that's why during youth hours the two of you would mysteriously ‘disappear’ while everyone else contributed holy related activities to do while father y/n and tobio went to assist the lord.

you had be fighting the urge to take your son aside and tear his tiny body in half right there inside the sacred haven. but poor little tobio was a virgin, nobody would dare attempt to be the one who would strip the priest’s son of his innocence. you and the younger male had only gone as far as sucking on each others lips or caressing one another in sensual ways that would surely be forbidden by the church.

it was unethical practice to do anything under sexual pretense inside the chapel; with your offspring no less. you were already commiting unforgivable acts unbeknownst to your fellow ministers— what was one more? just another sin strewn onto the pile of ones you had been collecting throughout the years.

the line between faith and abandonment finally blurred out when you caught your little kageyama with pants a size to small for his waist. the fabric rode up, perfectly rounding out and drawing scrutiny to his chubby ass. you were well aware of the scandalous gestures he would send your way while he kept his attention on the children. wiggling his ass out every so often was his main form of communicating his intentions.

he was at last ready to make his daddy proud, giving his body to him as though you were christ himself; submitting to you.

all of his coherent brain function was corrupt by you a long time past, the degenerate acts you two would shun from the eye of society had finally caught up to him. he needed the embrace of his dad, his loving, heavenly father that would fill his holes up with the holy spirit.

“tobio, follow me for a second please? i need to speak with you privately for awhile.” a forged grin took reign of your lips, softly signalling for your son as you escorted him through the barren temple halls. after he had finished passing out coloring activities for the group to engross in, he swiftly followed your lead.

“yes father, what is it that-” you barely gave kageyama a warning before slipping your forearms under his thighs, entangling the remainder of his limbs around your lower and upper body. you lifted his smaller from with ease, hot breath tickling the shell of his ear as your tone dropped to a deep whisper.

“are you ready to give your body to our savior, tobio?”

“yes father y/n, yes i am.”

that was all the confirmation you needed to proceed with blessing him. abandoning your clothes at the altar of god, you began to strip the boy attached to your body. steadily yanking down his suit pants, your cock already springing to life as his own came into view.

it was insatiably erect, you forbid your son from even being curious when it came to exploring his hormones. you knew one day keeping him fresh, unexposed to lewd activity would come in handy.

and it did, oh god it did.

his body was sensitive to the touch, you were concerned he was going to cum without you even putting a hand near his bulge. much less before the fun started. it was like caressing a rock, he was so stiff, the tip already dribbling a tiny bit of pre by the time you were able to finish your first stroke to the hilt.

after giving a few more measly flicks to the head of his cock; you guided tobio’s naked body towards the bible you had prepped specifically for this occasion. the oak pulpit stood tall amongst the various rows of seats— at the head of the stand was kageyama; exposed, ass out, and face burried deep inside the open book sprawled out for easy reading.

he could barely squeak out the first few passages as your lube coated fingers spread his cheeks and stretched his virgin hole to a worthy size; able to fit your fat cock.

it burned and ached, the agony of your fingers poking around his walls overthrew any noticable pleasure that may have slipped in unnoticed; it was torture. he thought intimacy was supposed to feel good. he should've listened when you told him it wasn't fun, how it was a crime against god and how he'd be severely punished for doing as such until he was proposed to by the right man.

but you were the right man, at least that's what you would tell him. so why was it so discomforting, so harsh? you weren't purposefully harming him were you? the paranoia was getting to him, it was so overwhelming, the thought of the man he adored so dearly causing him pain. hot, salty tears pricked his eyes, lashes catching any access fluid as they could meanwhile the clear streaks dusted his cheeks with red.

his hole was still barely twitching with anticipation, and would be for awhile; throwing your head back, you painfully fed kageyama’s rim your length. every inch that ventured just as deep as the last forced strained hiccups to seethe from behind his teeth. he was unbearably tight, his guts sucked you in while his walls showed heavy resistance— pushing you in and out of your trembling son.

“fucking hell.. dumb bitch, you’re so tight. ease up, i thought you'd serve me better- maybe i was wrong.”

no no, you were wrong, right? he was great, such an obedient little cocksleeve just for you, all for you. all he ever did was to please you; the man who he chased after for years, claiming he wasn't as nice as he predicted? panick only settle into him more, ruthlessly he began bucking his hips to match your unenthusiastic thrusts. attempting to appease you wasn't an easy feat, but he was so utterly devoted to you that the condition of his vessel meant nothing if it meant you were proud of him.

he attempted to slur out a form of quivering tongue with a few biblical quotes shoved in-between. whatever he was reciting wasn't human, infact you couldn't tell if he was fucked out or just anxious. whatever it was, your words had preformed their purpose; you were far too impatient to fully prepare him for the world of sex. forcing him to mature on the other hand seemed to run it's course— he was the one himself impelling himself onto at the end of the day.

your arms snaked around his tiny waist, hoisting his feet up and off the ground. the entirety of his lower half no longer met with the floor, steamy tears teased eyes while the remainder of his efforts worked into engulfing you whole. the stimulation of being carried off the ground just like that was unimaginable; only to have his pussy pounded mercilessly into the wooden podium.

“ack! ah.. mm. daddy, pl- please i can do better! m’promise, don't hold back- i want to feel every inch of you!” so vulgar, you weren't aware of tobio’s filthy mouth.

angling your hips to perfectly kiss his prostate with every shift in your pace, you plowed repeatedly into the spongy skin until he was no longer babbling on about anything coherent. whatever bible quote he was now listing off was lost within euphoria; his hole was loosening up more and more with each thrust you planted deep inside of his stomach.

he know knew how desperately he craved seeing your cum gush right out of his gaping ass. more than anything in the world.

“hah, what a stupid whore, letting your father fill up your belly like this? no wonder you can't do anything but flatter me.”

“m’not a stupid whore, daddy i promise!”

the way his cunt squelched around you told otherwise, you didn’t let up on the insults; constantly bombarding the male with word after word. his trembling thighs and drool stained expression prompted you to continue the vile humiliation.

“oh-ho yes you are, you're lucky i’m even taking the time to fuck you like this. the lord wouldn't dare touch you, so why should i? you're charity work kageyama, nothing but pity.”

giving his plump rear a deathly tight squeeze, you ramped up the vigor in your movements. aching breaths escape your nose as you send forth more shivers down the length of his spine— as much as he wants to keep you satisfied he can only withstand so much. this is his first time being lost within the rapturous waves of an orgasm. religious words still on the tip of his tongue as your name bounces off the empty church hull.

there's a puddle of semen beneath you at his feet, he's cum far too many times for you to count and he's just now; once again fighting for release. his limp, shaking shaft all swollen as it spurts out the umpteenth load that session.

you swiftly follow behind, using the last bit of strength in your twitching thigh muscles— you sent your hips forward, fully submerging your fat cock down his rectum. he yelps almost violently, but he adores it. the way you use up his spent hole. the amusement in his moans fizzle once he finally comes to his senses, realizing there's no cum sliding down his guts and into his tummy. the expected feeling of warm, sticky fluid staining his intestines was the big prize he was looking forward to.

“don’t you remember, your only use is to please me tobio. and you couldn't even do that, that's why you don't get daddy's cum. understand?” a disappointed glare forms on your face, once he's luckily unable to see.

he implores like you've never heard from anyone before, you've had your fair share of sexual favours under the church’s nose. but the dark haired male in particular was one of a kind, he was begging you for your seed like his life was dependant on whether or not you fufilled his lustful desires. he needed your cum, right there, right now.

even attempting to guide your entirely hard cock right back into his enormous asshole, which you allowed. your composure was iron-willed, you knew you could cum on command if need be. giving into his sinful fantasies, you pistoned yourself balls deep once more— your hands moving his hips for him as he pleaded for the sweet release of your fluids.

“please daddy, m’such a good cum dump! i promise, please just cum inside of me. i need it, i’ll do anything! anything!”

anything indeed, you had just the thing in mind. and you were sure tobio wouldn't refute, how could he? there wasn't any other choice, it was your cum or no cum. simple as that.

#𓉔 — m.list #𓉔 — directory. #𓉔 — works. #c; tobio #kageyama tobio x top male reader #kageyama tobio x male reader #tobio kageyama x top male reader #tobio kageyama x male reader #haiykuu x top male reader #haikyuu x male reader #dark haikyuu #haikyuu smut #tobio kageyama

[hippiehusk]

prompt 15, baffy?? 🙊

Hey! you didn't say which list you meant so I took the prompt from Drabble List #1! If that was the wrong list go ahead and send me the prompt u meant and I'll do that one too!

“I may have lost it.”

Bugs was roused from sleep by a horrible hammering sound. One of the neighbors - most likely Yosemite - must be doing some handyman work. Bugs rolled over, checking the clock. Only three minutes til his alarm went off. Ugh.

He sat up and stretched, rubbing his eyes, slowly waking up. His ear twitched, pointing toward the loud thuds. Now that he thought about it, the racket sounded awfully close…

Oh, no.

Tugging his robe on as he went, Bugs rushed downstairs and out the front door. To his horror, Daffy was their old ladder, leaned shoddily against the side of the house, trying to pound some nails through the siding. It looked like he’d succeeded so far; a string of colored lights was draped across half the house already.

“Have you lost it?!” Bugs called.

“Lost what?”

“What are you doing?”

“What’s it look like? I’m doing the Christmas lights myself, since apparently I’m the only one in this house with a sense of holiday spirit!”

“Wanna run that by me again?” Daffy of all people caring about Christmas did not compute. Presents, sure. But not Christmas.

“It. Is. Dethember -” Daffy snapped, adjusting his scarf, which was, notably, the only garment on his body, “And we are the only ones in the neighborhood with no lights!”

“I’m just struggling to find a reason why you’d care.”

“Holiday spirit!”

Daffy finished hammering in the nail he’d been working on, and let go of it. Immediately, it fell out and tumbled to the ground, and in his effort to catch it, Daffy wobbled on the ladder. With a series of unsteady “Wh - whoa - whoa!”’s, Daffy, still clutching the ladder, sailed to the ground, landing in front of Bugs with a thud.

“I’m gonna ask you again - slowly, this time - have you lost it?”

“I may have lost it.”

“Will you just come inside?”

“But the lights!”

“Your holiday spirit will survive if you take a break. Which, if I were you, I’d spend Googling ‘how to hang Christmas lights.’”

Daffy looked up at Bugs, one eyebrow quirked. “Holiday spirit? Who said anything about holiday spirit?”

“You did, about ten times.”

“No. I said ‘competitive spirit.’”

“Pretty sure it was ‘holiday.’”

Daffy shoved the ladder away, brushing himself off. “Well, I meant competitive spirit. If the rest of these losers are going to demolish my beauty sleep with their stupid lights, blazing through my window every night, we’re gonna have the brightest house on the block.”

“Okay, see, now this makes sense.”

Daffy was peering out the window, laughing maliciously. He’d been there for about forty-five minutes.

“If I hear that stupid laugh one more time -”

“Be quiet, rabbit, it’s happening!”

Bugs turned around from his spot on the couch to see what Daffy was looking at. He’d been outside all day finishing the lights, and now, the sun was finally setting. Bugs doubted the lights would even go on.

He was wrong. The sun was nearly finished setting, and as the clock struck 5pm, Daffy’s timer turned on the lights.

A giant inflatable Santa was illuminated by several red and green floodlights, which rotated, shining all around the neighborhood.

“Daffy, those are ridiculous!”

“I stole that big one off a police helicopter.”

The inflatable Santa was apparently on some sort of stand, rotating in a circle. Bugs watched as the thing’s wire wrapped around the base as it spun, eventually straining, until finally, it snapped, sending sparks everywhere. Santa’s foot caught fire.

Daffy screamed, running outside. Bugs meandered behind him, watching the duck frantically try to untangle the hose. Santa's entire lower half was consumed by flame by now.

“Take a picture, maybe they’ll let you have your burial plot back at Ohev Shalom,” Bugs said.

“I can’t, they took out a restraining - AH!” He blasted himself in the face with the hose.

“Yeah, you’ve definitely lost it.”

#baffy #tlts #bugs bunny #daffy duck #the looney tunes show

[writings-of-a-hufflepuff]

Prompt List #5

Other Prompt Lists

“Have you ever kissed anyone before?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“You’re not hurting me, you’re not heavy. I’ve got you, love.”

Kissing on sofa, foreheads pressed together, breathy, soft tender.

“Sometimes I wonder if you even like me...it sure feels like you hate me sometimes.”

“You were supposed to be my friend. That’s all...that’s all I asked of you. To be my friend. To care.”

“I look at him/her/them and I just..it’s like when the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes.”

“I don’t...i’ve never...been in a relationship and i’m going to make mistakes...I just need you to tell me. I need you to talk to me.”

“You really thought I was dead?”

“I want to believe, I do...I just...how can I believe in something that I can’t see?”

“You didn’t tell me your friend was cute! Now what am I going to do?”

“I feel sick…so anxious and sick and like my heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest.”

“Can we just make a decision? Please?”

“You don’t know what you do to me, do you?”

“I just want you to be safe. That’s all i’ve ever wanted for you!” 

“I want you to be happy...even if its not with me.”

“I want to feel like this forever.”

“You give me a reason to be better, to do better.”

“God, you are so fucking cute.”

“I love you, but I need you to go away because you’re really bloody distracting and I have to pass this test tomorrow.”

“I...I can’t do this without you.”

“Don’t forget me?” 

“You weren’t there...why weren’t you there?”

“I needed you! I needed you!”

“Now it’s over...I don’t really know what to do.”

“Do you ever think?”

“I’m going to die. I’m going to die with an absolute idiot!” 

“How can you drink that stuff?”

“Oh no...he’s/she’s/they’re cute.”

“I can’t talk to cute people, okay? I don’t know how to flirt!”

“Sometimes you love someone and you don’t want them to leave...because if they’re beside you, you can see that they’re safe and you can keep them safe. But, if they go somewhere without you...you might lose them”

“No one has a romantic bone in their body anymore! What happened to playing songs outside windows, glitter and sparkles on handmade Valentine’s cards, dancing in the rain!? What happened?!”

“I can’t imagine my life without you in it. You are so important to me, you are such a big part of my life, that I just...I can’t imagine you not here.”

“I just want you to be happy...”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“Stop apologising for other people! You’re not the shitty one!” 

“I want someone I can melt around. I want someone who melts around me too...I don’t want this standoffish, unromantic love that you’re offering. I want more than that.”

“I want to write you poetry, to write songs about you and draw your portrait! I want to make things for you! It frustrates the hell out of me hat I can’t draw and I can’t sing or write or play instruments or paint...You inspire me so fucking much...”

“You don’t own her/him/them. You don’t get to choose who they choose. I don’t get to choose who they choose. No one, but them, gets to make that decision.”

“Stop being a fucking dick.”

“That’s another way of saying you’re an arsehole.” 

“Can anyone else hear those Jumanji like drums? Or is it just me?”

“God, I love your face.”

Twirling a strand of their hair

Foreheads pressed together, breath intertwining, slow, content affection

“Please don’t say that about yourself. Please don’t believe that. You’re so much more than that. You’re so...”

“I’m only important when you need something from me.”

“I am fed up of half measures. I deserve better”

“Don’t look at me! I’m a mess!”

“I love it when you’re a mess!”

“Please stop rolling your shirt sleeves up, it’s terribly distracting”

“I don’t think you’re annoying...I know...I don’t...I really like listening to and hearing what you have to say even if its a lot sometimes..”

“I just want to be swept off my feet...is that so bad? I’m fed up of being alone.”

One reaching for the others hand to comfort them, to provide support. A thumb brushing lightly against skin. 

Reciting poetry at the other in a dramatic and very public fashion

Those period shirts with the puffy sleeves and the deep v and one staring at the other like... oh no he/she’s hot. 

Heart eyes when the other talks, sings, dances, argues, does literally anything especially things which others make fun of them for or find annoying

“Oh, my ankle! I think it must be broken!” *wink* *wink*

“I want you to be proud of yourself. I want you to believe that you’re good enough because you are. You’re so amazing.”

“Did you get any sleep last night?”

“I haven’t slept since they/him/her left/died”

“You are an uncultured swine! There I said it!”

“I know I should be happy...I did well...I always do well...so why can’t I believe in myself?”

“Please do your homework, for me? Just one time...”

“I said one time, y’know...you didn’t have to actually start studying. Not that I’m not proud or anything.”

“Go big or go home”

“I’m already home.”

“I lost my wellie boot in the river...”

“I wish I knew who they were...”

“It was that bad here?”

“I look at you and I...I feel so sad because I love you but I also have been hurt so many times that I don’t think I can forgive and forget.”

Brushing hair from their face

Leaning into the others hand, turning their head and pressing a kiss to the palm

“I didn’t take you for the settling down type.”

Speaks in a terrible Shakespearean/Elizabethan style to woo/make the other laugh

“Should I go first or...do you want to go?”

“If you want to leave, we can leave.”

“I don’t want to ruin your party.”

“You could never ruin anything.”

“Your comfort and happiness is more important to me than some stupid dinner.”

“Please don’t make me choose.”

“I can finally understand why you call them your arch-nemesis...What. A. Dick.”

“Poetry isn’t supposed to be good, it’s supposed to make you feel things!”

“If you don’t get that stick out of your arse, i’ll do it myself and beat you with it.”

“Could you come get me?”

“Stop moving! I’m going to have to start counting all over again!”

“I just thought that since you weren’t feeling too good, maybe this would help.”

The one stumbling to the other’s front door after getting hurt/beaten up etc.

“Oh my heart it breaks! It shall never be whole again!” “She/He/They break up with you every other month. Shouldn’t it be used to the disappointment by now?”

“I thought you said no more dangerous stunts?”

“I’m not kissing you in the rain! We’ll catch our death!”

“Where’s your adventurous spirit?!”

“A walk in the woods might do you some good. Clear your head.”

“You have wronged me so bitterly...”

“Do you talk to your mother with that mouth?”

“Please get me away from him. He hasn’t left me alone all night and I am this close to committing a murder.”

“I apologise sincerely if my handsome/beautiful face has kept you awake all night.”

Massages but the sort that are actually practical and helpful. Like babe, you’re so uncomfortable let me help because you’re clearly in pain

“Would it help if I stayed?”

“So I had this really vivid dream...”

#prompt list #prompts #writing prompts #writing prompt list #writing prompt #prompt

[secretshinigami]

Meet you under the sun

Author: @lightlessons For: @danthegeek Pairings/Characters: Light Yagami/L Lawliet, Misa Amane, Kiyomi Takada. Rating/Warnings: M. Mature language, Swear words, Alcohol consumption.  Prompt: AU Light is a popular Collage Student and invited to a beach party. He is having a lot of fun, is flirty and arrogant as we know him. He is dancing with Misa, who is not his girlfriend but has a crush on him. Then, L joins the party, somebody brought him along. He is chilling awkwardly by the buffet when Light takes notice of him and joins him at the buffet. He has seen him before a couple times on the campus, but never talked to him. What happens next is up to you…

Author’s notes: I bent the specifics a bit in that I had Light talk to L  just a bit after seeing him instead of immediately, because i felt it fit the pacing I had better. Hope it’s still okay though :-) 

—————————–

“Don’t tell me you’re a Beach Volleyball junior champion too,” Takada joked after Light obliterated (yet again) a team of what appeared to be sociology majors, or something equally pointless, she had that small, half-hearted smile that was so characteristic of hers but with the slight frown of someone who isn’t used to being impressed.

Light laughed humbly. 

“I’m not. Maybe my experience with tennis helps somewhat? But I’ve really never played it before.”

His classmate sighed, and Light thought that being constantly made aware of his numerous skills had to be tiring for her. “You must be just naturally talented then,” she supposed as she fixed her hair behind her ear in a strange bashful gesture that must mean she was finally surrendering over to Light’s natural charm, as one would expect. 

“Or those two are just awful,” Light smirked conspiratorially. 

The young bourgeois laughed, which was what Light was hoping to achieve. Takada always enjoyed laughing at other people’s expense.

Light wasn’t much of a fan of the beach. There was too much sand getting into bad places and too many people acting as if the transition from monkey to hominid had never been made. Too much noise and too much sun and too many girls asking him to slather them with sun blocker, as if he’d pop a boner over touching their skinny naked backs. But, if there was something he’d learned from a very young age was the importance of having good public relations, and so when Kiyomi Takada had invited him to an exclusive beach party, he knew he wouldn’t say no to the daughter of the Sankei Newspaper’s owner. He’d gone into To-Doh not just looking for a quality education after all but in the hope of forming good connections too. 

And this party, filled with Tokyo’s most important youth, was a perfect opportunity to start rubbing shoulders. Light was young and attractive and athletic, perfectly composed to be like a bug zapper for these kinds of things. 

Plus, the lively music and the three margaritas he’d already had were kinda getting to him. 

“LIIIIIIIIGHT!!!” A familiar voice suddenly screeched from somewhere behind him. 

Oh dear God. 

Five feet of blond supermodel darted towards him through the small crowd of spectators that had formed for the match. Misa Amane, bimbo extraordinaire, had finally shown up to the party in all her unbridled glory. 

“Oh, that was so cool! You’re always so cool, Light,” she proclaimed with shiny eyes while all the other men around and some of the women ogled her in her small two-piece red bikini with a blackthorns and vines pattern, as characteristic of the gothic style she favored. 

Now, Light didn’t dislike Misa. She was cute in a very whiny-cat kind of way. Sort of endearing at first but jarring as the volume increased and the minutes went on. The first time they met she’d claimed she felt a cosmological affinity towards him or some such bullshit and then proceeded to interrogate him for his zodiac, moon, and rising sign, whatever the hell that meant–he hadn’t been paying attention. She was useful, though, in that she was somewhat famous and happily willing to do him any favors, or connect him with any of her large contact lists, even when he’d already been clear about not being interested in any non-friendly relation with her (using the hardships that came to celebrities’ partners as an excuse), he was a gentleman, after all, and he wouldn’t toy with a woman’s feelings. 

“Hey Misa,” Light gave her an easy smile that would hopefully settle her for the rest of the day. 

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere for the past week! Where have you been hiding? Not with Kiyomi, I hope!”

Takada at his side made an affronted sound that seemed to choke on the way up her throat. 

“Behave, Misa. I’ve told you I’m not your property,” Light belittled her with only mild sternness. 

Misa shook her head enthusiastically. 

“Misa is only teasing, Light! She promises! Besides, Kiyomi and I have started getting along since Spanish class. Haven’t we, Kiyomi?" 

Kiyomi seemed startled for a moment, as if she didn’t expect Misa to call her out like that, but recovered quickly to settle her face into her usual cold mask of indifference. 

“I suppose so.” 

“Aw, don’t be like that. We even planned a fake trip to Playa del Carmen together! Oh, Light, you should join us!” 

“I’m taking Korean.” 

“Not in class, silly, on the trip!” 

"Right… then I happen to be busy around that time of year,” he joked, throwing a smirk at Takada and earning the most formal of snorts he’d heard. 

"Miss Amane does have a fondness for fantasizing,” Takada replied instead, like a ready viper waiting for the perfect moment to strike at her victims. Oh, there’s no need to be mean with her, Kiyomi. 

The implications seemed to get lost on the blonde, however. 

“Pfft, you’re no fun. I’ll borrow him for a bit, Kiyomi. Clearly he needs a little loosening up, and you’re not exactly a party animal, are you?” 

Before Kiyomi could reply Misa had already taken Light’s arm and dragged him to the bar for more drinks. Light had to admit, the cocktails options were impressive, and he sort of wanted to try everything on the menu, but in the end, following the beach spirit, he and Misa both ordered a piña colada, and while usually, he wasn’t a fan of too much sweet in his alcohol, the fresh taste felt like a blessing under the hot summer sun, enough that soon he found himself chatting amicably with Misa and even had to catch himself from -dear God- giggling at something she said. 

Such was his mildly buzzed state when a sight at the corner of his eyes caught his attention. Turning around, he understood why. A black-haired man was standing under a palm tree and sipping at his own colada, with his back very badly curved in an awful posture and huge eyes fixed somewhere on the sand. Weirdly enough, he was wearing jeans to the beach with only a loose tank top to combat the scorching weather, and still, his wild mop of hair was the most recognizable part of him, which was in itself something, as Light had never in his life seen someone more particular. He’d seen the other boy around campus a handful of times before, but there had never been an opportunity for him to approach him, even though Light had always felt an inexplicably strong pull for him to ask him about his name. 

Misa loudly calling his name made him realize he’d been staring. 

“Misa, do you know who that is?”

Misa squinted in the direction of Light’s eyes, face lighting up with recognition. 

“Of course! That’s Ryuzaki! He’s actually the inheritor of Wammy’s Co. But not many people know about that,” the model smirked like she was telling the juiciest gossip. “People like Takada probably think he sticks out like a sore thumb around here. But the truth is, he’s got more money than any of us combined.” Light’s ears perked up at that. “He’s also one of the smartest people you’ll ever meet, and I’ve met you, Light. I don’t know who invited him, though. Let’s ask him! Hey, Ryuzaki!!" 

The odd student turned around towards the voice calling him and tilted his head to the side in silent interrogation. 

The boy’s assemblage of quirks brought a smile to his face. He hadn’t allowed himself to think it before, but he had always thought the student was rather cute even with how little he knew of him. 

“Who invited you?!” 

Light winced and glared at Misa for how carelessly she had posed such a question, but Ryuzaki didn’t seem the least bit faced and instead cupped a hand near his mouth like a mock-megaphone and shouted: “I just came for the desserts!” with a wide-eyed expression that gave no indication whatsoever of if he was teasing or not. 

Misa laughed like she’d heard the best joke ever and Light just blinked in the boy’s direction.

“Isn’t he a blast?” She hollered as Ryuzaki’s eyes met his.

It was hard for Light to describe those few seconds, but for one single moment, the strings holding his soul together seemed to vibrate at a different tune than they’d played previously. He was unsure if he shivered, but he had to break the eye contact like some damned school girl to pull himself back together. 

Why did his face feel warm all of a sudden? 

"Ooh, I love this song! Let’s dance, Light!” Misa interrupted his thoughts again with a squeal.

“Uhh, sure, yeah…" 

×~°~×~°~×~°~×~°~×

Dancing was decidedly not as fun unless you had a certain amount of alcohol in your body. Or at least, that was Light’s opinion on the matter. Who’d enjoy several hours of mindlessly moving your body unless somehow inebriated? That’s why Light had to drink another two mimosas to keep up with dancing with Misa for five songs straight, not because he was somewhat shaken up about the guy with the bird’s nest hair and the absent look –Ryuzaki, his brain provided– and certainly not because he was figuring out how to approach him. 

He separated from Misa when the sun was already setting, bathing the sea with a last warm goodbye. Everyone at the beach stopped for a moment to marvel at it, but Light only had eyes for Ryuzaki, who was… nowhere to be seen, sending Light into a momentary panic. 

He almost slapped himself when he found him below the parasol housing the buffet. It was what Ryuzaki had said before about the only reason for coming to the party. Normally, he would have remembered, which only meant Light’s brain wasn’t behaving as fast as it normally would. It couldn’t be that he’d have too much to drink, could it? 

Alright, be smooth, Yagami. 

“Hello!” Light chirped with a wide grin, planting himself beside the strange boy who was staring at the lines of sweets like they were study material. 

Ryuzaki turned to him with a blink. 

That had come higher than intended. 

"We, uh, are in the same faculty? I’ve seen you around 345.”

“Light Yagami. Second-year Criminal Justice major. You’re the son of detective-superintendent Soichiro Yagami of the NPA." 

"Um.”

“You respect and admire your father greatly and your intention is to become the deputy director of the NPA. You’re as ambitious as you are clever.”

“Why do you-”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’re aware of how popular you are around here, word goes around. You’re not the only one I have this sort of information on." 

Light wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be reassuring. 

At the very least, that introduction had sobered him up. 

The other student was appraising him with a curious gaze, as he was starting to learn he looked at pretty much everything. 

"Is that the way you introduce yourself to everyone?" 

"Hmm. Yes, usually. I told you. You’re not special in that regard.”

“In what regard am I special, then?” Light asked cheekily. 

“That’s not-”

But he didn’t let him finish before walking around him like a predator would its prey. He made a show of considering what pastry he’d take and settled for a star-shaped cookie. Ryuzaki watched the whole procedure closely and Light smirked at him as he took a bite. 

Yes, I made you think about my mouth now. How’s that, smart-ass? 

“I think we should get to know each other better, don’t you?”

“And what makes you come to that conclusion?” Ryuzaki supposed. 

“Well, I want to, for one.” Light sassed.

“Are you coming on to me?" 

Light’s confident semblance cracked. It suddenly dawned on him what he was doing and where. Fuck, what if he isn’t into guys? This was why he never flirted with men unless he was sure the other person was at least bisexual! Or just let the other guys come onto him, which he never had a lack of. Shit. 

Ryuzaki seemed to notice his momentary alarm because he placed a hand on his arm in reassurance. 

"No, I’m into it. I was just surprised,” he explained with an earnestness Light wasn’t expecting. 

“Surprised?”

“People like you don’t usually flirt with me." 

"What’s people like me?" 

"Now you’re just fishing for compliments." 

Light grinned, feeling like his assured (but not overly-presumptuous) self again. 

“Swear I’m not.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Your hand is still on my arm, by the way.” 

Ryuzaki blinked at the offender, which was indeed still curled around Light’s tricep like a possessive pale spider. He only let go of it slowly, finger by finger, and Light pretended he could see a faint blush on the other’s face with the last rays of sunlight. 

There was a conscious effort on his part to not brush those sharp cheeks tenderly with his knuckles, less the sudden contact spook his new sudden fascination away. 

“It appears you’re not the only intoxicated one of the two of us,” Ryuzaki admitted in a low voice.

The loud party music and noises of the crowd seemed so far away. 

Light took a step forward. 

“We should–” 

“Light!”

A group of people was coming their way, and Light recognized Takada, Okubo Chise, Kinoshita Hideo, and another fake-blond dude he’d never had any interest in talking to. Kinoshita was the son of a major tech company’s executive and was rotting in money from his million-dollar hair to the ugly fungus in his toenails. Light, sadly, had had a mild interest for him at first, but that went to shit when he came to see how much of an asshole he was. 

Kinoshita grabbed him by the shoulder, while Chise and the fake-blond planted themselves in front of Ryuzaki. Takada, for her part, just stood to Light’s side glaring in Ryuzaki’s direction. What the hell?

“Light, what is someone like you doing talking with a freakshow like Ryuzaki.” Kinoshita wondered, exposing his gums in a self-satisfied smile that quickly raised Light’s hackles. "Don’t you know nothing good ever comes from involving yourself with him?”

“Come again?” 

“It’s true, Light. He doesn’t have a good reputation,” Takada interjected, not bothering to hide the disgust in her face with a once-over to his new acquaintance. “I don’t know how he’d have the nerve to come in here, uninvited.”

Frowning, Light searched to see the face of the boy he’d just been so pleasantly flirting with and, outwardly, found him to appear relatively unbothered. He’d expected him to be angry, indignant, or even sad, but Ryuzaki only had his hands in his jean pockets and was yet again staring with wide eyes at some unknown fixed point as if no one were talking about him. 

“You’re going to have to be more specific about whatever offense Ryuzaki’s done. But whatever the case, I find it incredibly distasteful to round him up like you’re doing.”

“It’s alright, Light. Kinoshita is probably still just angry because I exposed a nasty little online scam of his, and attained information that could lose him the already crumbling favor of his father, and also the fact that he is nevertheless unable to cause me any significant harm,” Ryuzaki answered matter-of-factly without sparing a single glance at Kinoshita’s direction.

Everyone fell silent for a moment. 

Okay, that was… 

Extremely attractive. 

“You’re a lying little cunt!” Kinoshita snarled. 

“The naive teenagers being granted false scholarships would argue otherwise.”

“What? Hideo, you said–” Takada began. 

But the small elite group exploded in an argument about what Kinoshita had or hadn’t done, with the latter giving weaker and weaker arguments. Light was so engrossed in his rightful indignation and the opportunity to disgrace Kinoshita, that by the time he called for Ryuzaki’s own word in the matter the strange student had already left without saying a word.

×~°~×~°~×~°~×~°~×

“Ryuzaki!" 

The hunched figure paused in his lazy gait towards the beach boulevard, but the dark disheveled head didn’t turn around. Light was panting by the time he caught up to him and he could feel the beginning of a headache already forming. 

Night had already fallen and the breeze charged at them from within the sea. 

"You’re already going?" 

"I am indeed approximately 700 feet from the party." 

"Not what I was asking.” Light rolled his eyes. 

Ryuzaki turned around finally, all sharp angles and even darker eyes illuminated by the blue and purple artificial lights on the street. 

“Well, your question didn’t contain your true intentions either. You’re asking why I’m going. And I assume this means you’d like to talk more?" 

Fastidious asshole. 

L didn’t wait for Light to answer before taking his phone from his jean’s pocket and handing it to him with the contact app open. 

Light typed quickly and handed the phone back, which finally brought a blessed smile to Ryuzaki’s face.

"I’m looking forward to talking to you soon, Light Yagami. Oh and before I forget." 

Long, spidery fingers settled themselves in a careful hold below Light’s chin, and before he had time to process what was about to happen, soft lips gave a feathery kiss to his own, so quick it might have been fantasy if it weren’t for the ghost of a contact searing an imprint over Light’s heart. 

“I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you at the entrance ceremony.”

#fanfiction #death note #submission #lawlight #misa amane #kiyomi takada #l lawliet #light yagami #ratings: mature #lightlessons #danthegeek #Near's Bday Finale 2k21

[melzula]

The Throne

part two

pairing: Zuko x Princess!reader

summary: Sokka goes undercover and Katara and the Princess encounter an unlikely ally

~ part of the fire lilies series ~

The royal square is bustling with activity as the water tribe gets ready for the new day. Merchants prepare their stands and the guards on night watch hand over their position to the morning relief, and everyone is simply much too busy to notice the three teenagers who sneak into the palace and past the guards towards Koa’s office. You lead the way, Sokka by your side while Katara keeps watch from the back, and all three of you are dressed in the exact same shade of blue that lines the inside of the palace. Koa’s office is just around the corner, and it’s with the motion of your hand that you stop your little troop and watch him emerge from the room. His eyes are shifty as always, gauging his surroundings as he locks the door shut, and it’s only when he’s completely out of sight that you rush out from the shadows.

“Sokka, the door,” you instruct, both you and Katara with water at the ready as you keep watch over the boy who gets to work on picking the lock. The transition period between the guards means there’s no one around to catch you, but you can never be too careful with these sorts of things.

Sokka is able to break in within a matter of seconds, allowing the three of you to hurry inside before shutting the door behind you. Koa’s office is neatly organized, so you should have no problem searching through his things for evidence; you take his desk, Katara looks through his shelves, and Sokka keeps an eye on the door in case anyone decides to make a surprise visit.

“You know, this is not how I pictured my first visit to the palace,” Sokka says with a slight frown.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize sincerely, pulling your mask below your chin as you meet his eyes. “Trust me, I wish it didn’t have to be this way either, and I wish I didn’t have to bring you both into this but it’s the only way we can make things right. Koa doesn’t care about the tribe, he only cares about himself, and if my mother and I don’t get the throne back soon there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

“I think I’ve got something,” Katara says, holding up what looks to be a journal.

“What’s it say?” Sokka asks as the two of you peer over her shoulders at the page.

“He’s got everything in here. Notes, check lists, calendars with important dates.”

“You know, for a villain Koa is super organized,” Sokka notes thoughtfully only for his sister to elbow him in the side.

“It looks like there’s a few pages missing from the book,” she says with a frown. “He must have known y/n would come snooping around eventually and taken out the important stuff.”

“But look here,” you say with a small gasp, “according to this he’s hosting a meeting with his supporters tonight in... the tunnel?!”

“You mean your secret tunnel with Zuko?"

“Yes! Oh, I can’t believe him!” You exclaim with disgust. “First my throne and now my secret tunnel?!”

“Don’t worry, Princess,” Sokka vows earnestly, “I’ll go to that meeting tonight and get down to the bottom of all of this. You and Katara keep snooping.”

“We might have to take a rain check on the snooping,” Katara says, “someone’s coming.”

The three of you are quick to scatter out of the office, Sokka going down one hall and you and Katara going down the other. There’s nothing you can do now other than wait for Sokka to come back with more information, and you hope to the spirits that things will turn out okay.

“Don’t worry. This isn’t the first time Sokka’s had to play detective,” Katara consoles you, “we’re going to get that dirt on Koa.”

“For the sake of the Southern Water Tribe, I hope you’re right.”

~~~

Choruses of laughter and lively chatter drift through the tunnel as Sokka approaches the entryway with a confident though causal gait and a charming smile, but this demeanor isn’t enough to get him past the guards who immediately block his path the moment he steps towards the entrance.

“State your business,” the taller of the two says.

“This is the secret anti-Princess meeting, right?” Sokka asks. “I too would like to participate in the slandering of y/n.”

“Aren’t you a friend of the Princess?” The other guard questions, his gaze narrowing suspiciously at the obviously nervous Sokka.

“A friend? Pft! Yeah, right! If by friend you mean enemy!” He scoffs a little too dramatically. “She thinks she’s so great with her... big crown... a-and pretty face... and fancy water bending?”

The two guards exchange quiet glances, and for a moment Sokka fears he’s been caught, but to his delight the two clear the way and allow him entry to the meeting. A good amount of men stand about conversing, most of them strangers to Sokka considering they’re not from his village, and it is because of this that he is able to easily blend in and walk about eavesdropping on the different conversations without being noticed.

“Koa’s going to strengthen our tribe, you’ll see.”

“The Princess will never live up to her father. I bet she cares more about her Fire Lord boyfriend than her own tribe. Koa says it’s true.”

“Koa said it was Prince Zuko who killed Chief Tukon. How can someone be with the person responsible for their own father’s death?! She’s obviously lost her mind.”

“She doesn’t deserve the throne. She’s selfish, she’s childish, and she isn’t even a very good water bender. Did you see her hands? If that were me I wouldn’t have gotten burned.”

“Wow, you guys are seriously misinformed,” Sokka mutters under his breath, his jaw clenching as he bites back the urge to defend your name. Luckily, all conversation ceases as Koa appears at the center of the room, preventing the boy from blowing his cover with an angry outburst.

Sokka scrambles to follow the movements of the other men, most of them guards and a handful of them villagers, but all salute Koa and express their praise for the man who gives them a pleased smile before raising his hand to silence the men.

“Thank you all for coming here. I admire your perseverance and your dedication to the cause. With the rise and fall of the sun a new day approaches, and with each day that passes the Princess continues to fall short of her duties. What has she done other than take part in a mediocre party she threw for herself? What of the rest of us, the men trying to rebuild our lives in the wake of her absence?”

Oh, I don’t know, maybe saved the world, Sokka thinks bitterly to himself. Man, this guy is so lucky Zuko isn’t around.

“Under my rule we could get the Southern Water Tribe back to its rightful place in the world. We don’t need the Fire Nation or our sister tribe or anyone else. Trust in me, and you will have everything you should ever desire.”

“But our sister tribe is our ally,” one of the men says, “I have family there. Shouldn’t we remain in contact?”

“What has the North ever done for you?” Koa sneers, quieting the man and only further fueling Sokka’s hatred for Koa. What does he know?! “Once the Princess is taken care of, the North will be next.”

All the men look upon one another uneasily, but no one dares speak against Koa. Attacking their sister tribe doesn’t seem right, but surely he knows what’s best for them?

“How are we going to take care of the Princess?” Sokka calls from the crowd, deepening his voice and ducking down in the back so as to not draw attention to himself.

“I’m glad you asked,” Koa says with a sinister smirk. “She’s overstayed her welcome for much too long. It’s time we drove her out of the palace once and for all.”

“And how will we do that, sir?”

“A mutiny.”

~~~

“Princess?” Kai splutters in surprise at the sight of you and Katara standing in his front doorway.

“Kai, I know this is a lot to ask of you but I need you to let me go through your father’s things,” you say.

“Okay,” Kai shrugs simply, prompting you and Katara to exchange surprised glances.

“Wait, really? You’re not going to even ask why?”

“I know my dad’s a jerk, and I know you’re doing your best to put the tribe back together,” he explains simply as he leads the two of you to his father’s bedroom. “He’s honestly been kind of a pain lately, and I feel like he’s going to do more harm than good. Why shouldn’t we try to stop him?”

“Wow, that’s really noble of you,” Katara murmurs slowly.

“Maybe if he’d been a little nicer to me I might have reconsidered helping you, but it is what it is. You have plenty of time to explore, but I’ll keep watch just in case he comes back early.”

“Thank you, Kai. Honestly, you have no idea how much this means to me,” you profess earnestly. The boy smiles shyly in return.

“Anything for you, y/n,” he replies, and with that you and Katara are off in search of more evidence.

“I hope Sokka’s doing okay,” you murmur softly as you shuffle through Koa’s things.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Katara consoles you. “You know he’d do anything for you.”

“Yeah, I know...”

“Hey, I found the missing pages!” Katara says, her brows furrowing as she reads over the notes.

“What is it?”

“These notes... They’re plans to invade the North.”

“What?!” You exclaim in surprise as you join her side and peer over the handwriting. “That’s impossible! There’s no way anyone will go along with that.”

“Not according to these papers. ‘Every man is expendable. Do whatever it takes and get rid of anyone who tries to get in the way,’” she reads carefully. “Koa isn’t just trying to take your throne away, but the Northern throne too.”

“He always used to make subtle suggestions about the North to my father when he was advisor, but I never knew they were this serious...” you utter solemnly. “We have to stop him before it’s too late.”

“Y/N! Katara!” Sokka shouts, startling the two of you.

“Sokka, quiet down! You’re going to get us caught!” His sister scolds. “What is it?”

“Koa wants to invade the North!”

“We know that already!”

“Yeah, well do you also know that he and the guards are staging a mutiny three days from now against y/n?!” He reiterates. Your face pales with worry and your stomach begins to sink as you process the news Sokka has just delivered.

“A mutiny?” You squeak, the two siblings immediately ceasing their bickering to rush to your side and comfort you. You try to hold back the tears, but you can’t help the way your shoulders begin to shake and your bottom lip begins to quiver. “I really am a failure...”

“No, don’t say that!” Katara protests, pulling you into her arms for possibly the tightest hug you’ve ever received in your entire life. “None of this is your fault.”

“But it is! You and my mother say it’s not my fault but none of this would have happened if I hadn’t left home!”

“Y/n—”

“And I know what you’re going to say, and no, I don’t regret leaving. I don’t regret any of it because then I wouldn’t have Zuko or Iroh or Suki or you guys. But that doesn’t change the fact that my selfishness has now put both tribes in danger. I’ll never be the leader my father was.”

“No, you won’t,” Sokka says much to your surprise, carefully wiping away the tears that fall down your cheeks. “You’ll never be your father, because you’re not supposed to be like him. You’re you, Princess y/n of the Southern Water Tribe, master water bender and rightful heir to the throne. You can do this.”

“We believe in you, y/n,” Katara reinforces firmly. “And we’re going to help you get through this. No matter what.”

“Thank you,” you sniffle, wiping away your tears before holding your chin high. “You’re right. I can’t get anything done if I just sit here and cry. If Koa wants a fight then I’ll be ready for a fight. Sokka, Katara, I hate to ask this of you but is there any chance your father and his men will be willing to help?”

“Dad already said he’d be here to help if you needed it. Our village is just as eager for the end of Koa’s reign as we are,” Katara says. “They’re falling apart without the resources Koa promised them.”

“We know what’s coming and we know what to do,” Sokka reiterates. “We’ll be ready for Koa.”

“And that’s a promise.”

~~~

The flames of the fire that surround the throne glow brilliantly along the palace walls and bathe the room in a peaceful light. On the throne sits Fire Lord Zuko, his knee bouncing anxiously as he awaits the arrival of his servant. He hopes the delay means there’s news waiting for him, but when she arrives empty handed Zuko deflates.

“There was nothing?”

“We received no new letters from the Southern Water Tribe,” she replies solemnly, bowing her head in respect. Zuko is silent for a moment as he does his best to quell his panic.

“I see,” he murmurs thoughtfully before reaching into his robe for the scroll safely tucked away inside and unraveling it to look over his own letter.

To my beloved Princess,

I haven’t heard from you since I last saw you, I hope you’re alright. I’m sure you’re doing amazing things for your tribe, and I couldn’t be more honored to call you my girlfriend. I wish you only the best and hope this letter finds you well. Please write me back when you can just so I can sleep soundly knowing you’re okay and safe. I love you.

- Zuko

“Make sure this gets to Princess y/n,” he orders as he hands the scroll to the servant.

“Yes, my lord,” she replies earnestly before scurrying off to deliver the message and leaving Zuko to stew in his own thoughts.

“Spirits, help me,” he sighs with a tired rub of his eyes. It’s been a long week and each day that passes without word from you is another day of agonizing torture. “Please be okay...”

You really should have told Zuko about Koa from the beginning.

| tags: @rainteslerrrr @oddment-niwit-blubber-tweak @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @coldlilheart @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @zukh03s @taeeemin @user12345321 @just--artemis--with--ghost @titaniafire @dekahg @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @lozzybowe @izzieserra @melacholy @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @djskfkdkkf @xapham @yeetletzgetitjae @misnmatchedsox @chewymoustachio @that-bucket-hat-gal @chilifrylizard2 @kyomihann @kaylove12 @kiwihoee @freggietale @neighborhoodpansexualdisaster |

#I’m having too much fun with this storyline ajsns #we love #zuko #zuko x reader #zuko imagine #prince zuko #prince zuko x reader #prince zuko imagine #sokka #sokka x reader #katara #katara x reader #zuko and the princess #avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #atla #atla x reader #atla imagine #fire lilies #the throne #au

[theballadoffinchesandsaints]

Let’s talk about the Vaincre trade:

(As I am writing this, only the first full chapter, July, has been published)

I’ve said before that I’m fairly certain it’s going to be Leo, but I want to walk through the thought process that got me there (this is long and unedited. You’ve been warned).

First, since this is going to be such a major plot point, I think it’s going to be a character who’s inner circle had at least a minor spotlight in the first chapter. These were Coops, O’knutzy, O’darwin, Thomas & Noelle (do they have a ship name???), Regulus (tho he’s obviously disqualified for not being a pro player rn), and Cole (with a bit of Dumo).

Additionally, I think a key component of this plotline will be developing characters so that they can stand on their own once separated from a crucial relationship (thematically, it makes the most sense to me).

With that in mind, let’s do some quick (yeah lol prob not quick) disqualifications from the list:

Remus: I know this is a more common theory (and god would it hurt) but Remus’ storyline is already jampacked with living up to the standards of the league, team, and public, as well as adjust to a new relationship dynamic with Sirius. On a more heavy note, Remus will have to navigate how playing hockey will interact with the trauma of Greyback’s attack and the resulting injury. I’m sure most of us inferred that this would be a plot point, but the idea was solidified in a snippet of Remus and the team discussing predictions for the top teams of the season.

Sirius: while narratively, I actually think it would be fascinating to see the lions learn to be a team without their leader and to see Sirius have to learn that there are other parts of the world he can trust, this one falls apart in both logistics and clues Hazel has already given us. Truly, I cannot imagine a trade in which it would make sense for the Lions to give up their beloved, talented, effective captain and first line center, especially after he just led them to Stanley Cup. And when someone asked Hazel about (I believe) what relationships would be highlighted in Vaincre, Coops made the list with the qualification that their storyline would largely center around Remus’s adjustment to the team. A Sirius trade requires long-distance Coops angst which, while possible, would be both difficult and against the spirit of the statement.

O’Darwin and Thomas & Noelle already have long-distance angst happening in July, so trading either Kasey or Thomas would miss some of the emotional punch we know Hazel is going to give us.

Cole: I mean, the kid’s a rookie. It doesn’t really make sense. Threads seem to be being set up with the Dumais’ baby sitter and maybe one of the new PTs? (I don’t remember exactly where I’m getting this from, but I’m near certain it was from Hazel’s tumblr). It seems like physical encounters are going to be a big thing with both of these relationships, plus all the obvious great storylines of a new rookie getting comfortable in the team, make it unlikely Cole will be the trade. Not to mention, there are no guts to punch with Cole. We love him already, but he isn’t close with anyone on the team yet. We’d feel disappointed, not devastated, if he got traded. We all know Hazel’s going for devastation.

Dumo: this one approaches probability for me. Dumo would be heartbreaking for every member of the team, but especially Sirius and Logan. It would also sort of follow through on a previous idea from a rough draft of SW where Dumo has a career-ending injury. All the players would have to learn to navigate life without a father figure, and it would break down the system of where many Lions rookies live. But this one’s all speculation, at least as far as I know. It’s not hinted at in July, and I can’t think of any snippets that suggest Dumo. Plus, it feels like all of the main POVs have been set up in July, and we know from the dreaded “of being a lion” snippet (in which said player gets called about the trade) that we do get POV chapters from the player who’s traded.

We’ll get back to O’knutzy later. First, some people who aren’t on the list that I feel are worth discussing briefly (tho these are unlikely for the reasons at the end of Dumo’s):

Kuny & Nado: Now, I remember Kuny’s “no trades, no trades” thing from Hazel’s tumblr. It hurts. It feels like foreshadowing. But, remember, Hazel has also said that these boys will both play a more secondary role in Vaincre. They’re both safe.

James: I go back and forth on this one all the time. Thematically, separating Sirius and James would be both heartbreaking and deeply interesting. James was a major force in bringing Sirius out of his shell, and Sirius would have to learn to maintain that without his best friend always by his side. James and Lily are also suspiciously absent from July. I know Hazel said they’re on their honeymoon, and I’m not disputing that in any way, shape, or form. However, it does provide ample excuse to become a new POV in August. However, I can’t find any snippets to really support it. And, just, in general, James as a character in Hazel’s fics (or at least in Solntse and SW) provides a stable backbone for the other characters. He’a developed as a character but stable and happy. This could be the thing that changes that, but, at the very least, it doesn’t fit the narrative role he serves in SW, and I think it would change the feel and character dynamic of the fic as a whole (not just of the team) too much for that to be the choice.

And then there’s O’knutzy:

Going into Vaincre, I asked myself: what are everyone’s plotlines going to be? Remus will adjust to the team and playing Greyback. Sirius will largely be his support system, tho some stuff may be done with his relationship with Regulus and/or moving on from any semblance of his parents’ influence. Dumo will welcome rookie Cole onto the team. James will be a new father. Thomas and Noelle will have long-distance relationship feels. Kasey will adjust to O’darwin, and probably also deal with his reoccurring injury.

And the cubs? Are in a happy, stable relationship with everything they’ve ever wanted. The seeds to a storyline regarding whether or not they choose to come out was definitely hinted at in July, but I don’t think it will be their sole focus. Thankfully, there is nothing pressuring them to come out currently. They think about it. They long to do it. But nothing has changed since the end of SW/CtC. If one of them was long-distance, that would change the dynamic. When you can always go home to your two loving boyfriends, it doesn’t hurt quite as bad when you can’t be affectionate when out with them in public. When you’re only in the same city for a day or two roughly every month (depending on which team the trade is with), every second you could spend holding them and don’t hurts more and more. Whether I think they choose to come out or not, I really don’t know. I think so, but I’m definitely not sure. But the real question is, which cub goes away and prompts this?

If it’s a cub, it’s definitely Leo. Hazel posted a snippet that just...says so much.

Do I even need to explain? She practically told us. I’ve spent over an hour analyzing nearly every prominent Lion when Hazel practically told us Leo was going to be the trade with this right here.

But I do have more to say. I don’t think either Finn or Logan would work well as the trade. The plot of them being separated was well explored in CtC, and I honestly just don’t think it needs more examination. They learned to cherish each other, talk to each other, love each other freely and honestly. Them being separated again would just hurt. It wouldn’t serve a narrative purpose.

On the other hand, I do think Leo’s character could actually benefit from some time alone. He had barely a few months as a full-blown adult, working in the NHL, before he entered a committed relationship with his two lovely boyfriends, both of whom had had years more time to live with and explore themselves (tho it’s not as if they were doing that freely). A couple of months or even years dating long-distance could force Leo to have some more adventures on his own and come into himself more. Then, he can fully return to his boys, his “long-lost lover[s],” and be more stable in his love.

In a similar vein, Logan and Finn have only had short amounts of time to make their leg of the relationship stable and happy in comparison to the time they spent yearning or heartbroken. Even in CtC, their reflex is to go to Leo first, which is, of course, perfectly fine and lovely and adorable, but I think they need to spend some time unlearning that knee jerk reaction.

Then, when Leo comes back (because one way or another, in canon or in my head, he will), all three are confident in themselves as individuals and in each leg of the relationship as well as the three of them as group. No one and no couple n e e d s anything, but they come back together because they all love each other, more than anything.

That’s what I think will see in Vaincre. At the very least, it’s what I want.

Vaincre is by the one and only @lumosinlove

#this took 2 hours #unedited #i rlly hope someone enjoys it #edit: i went and checked and this is over 1600 words #it is 4 pages single-spaced with 11.5 font #mine #sweater weather #coast to coast #vaincre #lumosinlove #sweater weather lumosinlove #coast to coast lumosinlove #vaincre lumosinlove #vaincre trade #pascal dumais #cole reyes #sirius black #remus lupin #coops #logan tremblay #leo knut #finn o'hara #o’knutzy #kasey winter #o’darwin #james potter #thomas walker #noelle tremblay #the marauders #regulus black

[stufftippywrote]

5 People Who Interrupted LWJ&WWX, and 1 Who (Kind of) Didn’t

22 from this list! Still open to prompts!

This is decidedly book continuity, and for about seven words Wei Wuxian does pay lip service to his dubcon kink, so if that's a squick for you, skip number 3.

1) Lan Sizhui

It was after curfew and Sizhui shouldn't have been wandering around the buildings at night. That's the explanation Wei Wuxian will go with, if he's called to account for this little misunderstanding. He doubts it will happen, though; Sizhui's far too kind-hearted to go running to the sect leader or Lan Qiren with evidence of what he's seen.

What happened was this: Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had been researching various topics in the library pavillion as the sun went down, and lost track of time. Most notably, Lan Wangji had been exhaustively researching the curve of Wei Wuxian's neck, the jut of his collarbone, and Wei Wuxian was deep in study of the coolness of the floors contrasted with the heat of Lan Wangji's body on his. Lan Wangji had just been shifting his area of focus from neck to jaw to lips when there was a sudden noise by the door. He immediately moved off of Wei Wuxian and stood, but it was too late; Sizhui was already standing in the doorway, his face red.

"I was just -- locking up -- I'll just go -- since you're busy," he stammered, then very carefully pulled the door closed and disappeared.

Lan Wangji looked down at a still very horizontal Wei Wuxian. "We should go back."

"What?" Wei Wuxian whined. "We were in the middle of something."

"If Sizhui's locking up, it's time to go," Lan Wangji repeated, and Wei Wuxian grumpily got to his feet and obeyed.

They got back into it in the Jingshi, but it just wasn’t the same.

2) Lan Qiren

This time is on purpose. And probably justified.

It's very quiet at Cloud Recesses, which (occasionally) irks the hell out of Wei Wuxian. Still, he goes along with it, most of the time, if only because he doesn't want to get kicked out by certain angry uncles. But there are times when it's just plain impossible.

One of those times is when Lan Wangji is sucking on his earlobe, hands under his robes, teasingly brushing over certain places where Wei Wuxian is aching for a firmer touch. Wei Wuxian thinks he's going to go out of his mind with sensation. The only thing he can do is clutch at Lan Wangji's shoulders, try to encourage those too-patient hands, and moan "Lan er-gege, please, more" in a voice unrestrained by the foolish rules of the Lan Clan.

Lan Wangji stiffens at the name, then drowns Wei Wuxian in a kiss so fierce and deep that Wei Wuxian shouts against it, his whole body flooding with want.

A moment later, there are footsteps and a knock on the door.

Lan Wangji has very attuned senses. "It's Uncle," he says, and draws back.

"Uncle? What is your uncle doing here when we're busy!"

As if in answer, outside the doors, the barking voice of Lan Qiren: "Wangji, please remind your guest about the noise restrictions of the Cloud Recesses. Thank you." And that's it, he retreats.

Wei Wuxian laughs and tries to pull Lan Wangji back toward him, but Lan Wangji is still staring at the door, and he won't budge.

"Lan Zhan," he prods, poking at Lan Wangji's arm.

Lan Wangji remains unmoving.

"Lan er-gege." Wei Wuxian crawls toward him and slides a hand up his arm, grinning.

"We should be more careful," Lan Wangji says. His voice is devoid of the roughness that comes when he's being passionate.

"Oh, come on." Wei Wuxian sighs. "You're not in the mood anymore?"

Lan Wangji's ears turn pink. "It was my uncle," he says, as though that explains everything.

"Lan Zhaaaan." Wei Wuxian groans the name. "You said every day, remember?"

"Later," Lan Wangji says. "And quietly."

3) Nie Huaisang

The Discussion Conference that year is held in Qinghe, and while Lan Wangji doesn't tend to show up for these things, Nie Huaisang sends so many letters begging him to attend that he eventually relents. When they arrive, Clan Leader Nie is in a state, begging for their help in this matter and that. Won't they help him figure out how he's to handle a particularly picky sect leader who's unhappy with his room, and how can he avoid seating these two together when they hate each other Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji do their best to be of use, but the minute Nie Huaisang leaves them alone, they hurry down the corridor and out of the building for some much-needed fresh air.

They find themselves in a secluded courtyard, shaded by a pair of gnarled trees. Wei Wuxian collapses against one of the trees. "I didn't realize we'd end up planning half the conference."

"That was ... difficult," Lan Wangji agrees.

Wei Wuxian leans against the tree, folding his arms behind his head. "Well, at least we can have thirty seconds of quiet now ... what's that look for?"

Because Lan Wangji is looking at him with a dropped jaw and pink ears.

"This reminds me," he says, and then stops.

"Hmm?" Wei Wuxian tilts his head.

Lan Wangji takes a step toward him. "Baifeng Mountain," he says in a low voice.

"Baifen... oh." Wei Wuxian grins. "Is this what I looked like? Leaning against the tree?"

Lan Wangji's silence and the tint to the tips of his ears are the only confirmation he needs. His grin widens. "Do you want to try it again? No punching trees this time afterward, but I promise to close my eyes and..." It's the last thing he's able to get out before Lan Wangji is on him, pressing him against the tree and kissing him deeply.

Wei Wuxian grins into the kiss, wraps a hand around Lan Wangji's neck to haul him closer. "Yes, it was like this, wasn't it?" he murmurs when Lan Wangji breaks the kiss for air. "I was so alone and vulnerable in the forest, and you came and held me down and kissed me." Lan Wangji moves to silence him with another kiss, but Wei Wuxian wiggles away and whispers in his ear. "You could have done other things with me too ... I wouldn't resist... well, maybe I'd resist a *little*--" and that's as far as he gets. Lan Wangji thrusts a thigh between his legs and all Wei Wuxian can do is whimper as they kiss again, this time hotter and messier.

"Wei-xiong! Hanguang Jun!"

The voice sounds as if from far away. They aren't about to stop kissing for distant voices, not right now, when the heat is so delicious between them. But then there are footsteps, echoing down the corridor they came from, and Lan Wangji at least has enough presence of mind to step back.

Nie Huaisang appears at the entrance to the courtyard, breathing hard as though he's just run a mile. "Oh, thank goodness I've found you two! I need your help. Sect Leader Han is having an argument with Fan Xun over some business with a night hunt that I can't figure out, and it's making a scene! Please come help me settle them down!" And he grabs both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji by the sleeve and pulls them, with uncharacteristic strength, down the corridor again.

To his credit, Nie Huaisang doesn't make any mention of what he saw or what they were doing. But they spend the remainder of the conference far, far from Baifeng Mountain.

4) Jin Ling

There's a peculiar sort of monster prowling the woods outside Lanling: a boar spirit, with tusks that can uproot a tree and a taste for travelers who go astray. From all accounts, it doesn't seem to be the smartest of beasts, so the best approach is to lead it into a trap. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji set the trap meticulously, create a trail of meaty temptations to entice it in, and retreat behind a copse of trees to wait.

As they wait, Wei Wuxian's increasingly aware of Lan Wangji's heat and presence next to him. They're both still sweaty from the exertion of setting the trap. A bead of perspiration lingers at the base of Lan Wangji's neck, and Wei Wuxian is compelled to lift a finger and wipe it clean. Lan Wangji shudders, and his hands come forward automatically to grip Wei Wuxian's waist.

"So sensitive today," Wei Wuxian murmurs, and leans in to kiss the spot he'd touched. Lan Wangji's hands tighten on his waist.

All at once this routine night-hunt is instead a thrilling tryst in the midst of danger. Wei Wuxian pushes closer. Lan Wangji captures his lips with a soft sigh. They kiss long and lingering in the quiet woods, the moonlight filtering through the leaves to lay a silver sheen on white skin.

"You could lay me down right here," Wei Wuxian whispers against Lan Wangji's ear. "Have me in the middle of the woods, late at night."

"I'm considering it," Lan Wangji half-growls, and kisses him again.

The kiss tastes stronger than just "considering it." Wei Wuxian goes a little dizzy as Lan Wangji tips him back, as Lan Wangji's hands move to the small of his back, hot and firm. He murmurs encouragement, lets his body go limp so Lan Wangji can lower him down bit by bit onto the forest floor, being kissed into oblivion all the while...

"Oh my god, ewwwww."

They turn. Jin Ling is standing at the other side of the grove, his face twisted. "I mean, I knew it, everybody knows it, but I didn't think I'd ever have to *see* it."

"Jin Ling, what are you doing here?" There's a crisp annoyance in Wei Wuxian's tone as he gets back to his feet, Lan Wangji soundlessly doing the same behind him.

"I was looking for the boar beast, of course!" Jin Ling grips the sheath of his sword like he's ready for combat. "Are you the ones who set the trap? What am I talking about, of course you set the trap. Why aren't you watching it?"

Wei Wuxian can't help a crooked smile. "We figure it'll have something to say when it gets itself trapped," he says. "Are you here with your uncle?"

"No." Jin Ling puffs up proudly. "I don't need my uncle to go night-hunting."

"Good, good." Wei Wuxian moves toward him, smiling entreatingly. "How about we don't tell your uncle what you just saw, okay?"

Jin Ling shivers. "Like I could even say it out loud!"

"You're such a good kid." Wei Wuxian pats him on the shoulder. Jin Ling jerks away. "Isn't he a good kid, Lan Zhan?"

Before Lan Wangji can answer, there's a terrible roar from nearby in the forest. The boar has walked into the trap. Wei Wuxian shoots a plaintive look at Lan Wangji, but that's all he can do -- it's time to get back to business.

5) Jiang Cheng

At Lan Wangji's urging, Wei Wuxian sends Lotus Pier an "informational letter" letting Jiang Cheng know that the two of them plan on visiting Yunmeng for a week in the summer. "We will stay in a local inn," he writes, but when Jiang Cheng sends back a missive to Cloud Recesses, he says, "You might as well stay here." Wei Wuxian can practically *hear* the huff in his voice.

So Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji show up at Lotus Pier at summer's edge, when the flowering shrubs are in the height of their bloom, and an unsmiling Jiang Cheng gives them a cursory bow and leads them to two rooms in a far corner of the compound. "Of course I can't tell you what to do," he says, "but ... still." Not one of the three has any illusions about how many rooms will get used.

Jiang Cheng doesn't smile the whole time, but he at least invites the two of them to meals when they're home, and makes sure they have what they need. Wei Wuxian shrinks a little when he's around, not wanting to start anything that will disturb the fragile peace. But when he's not, Wei Wuxian cheerfully leads Lan Wangji down the outdoor walkways that zigzag toward the river's edge. At the far end is a small pavillion with a place to sit and look out over the water. It's sunset and the water is bright like flame, reflecting the orange bulb of the sun lowering itself behind the faraway trees.

"I used to see sunsets like this every day, all the time," Wei Wuxian says.

"Do you miss them?" Lan Wangji asks, glancing at him.

"No, it's not that I miss them, exactly. And Cloud Recesses is so nice, your thousands of rules notwithstanding, and there's lots of beautiful things up there." Wei Wuxian smiles. "But it's nice to come back and see this once in a while."

"We'll visit often, then." Lan Wangji speaks with sureness.

"I don't know how often Jiang Cheng will let us stay here," Wei Wuxian says, "but we can come to Yunmeng now and then. There are other places to see the sunset."

"But none quite like this one?"

"Exactly." Wei Wuxian sighs.

"We can talk to your brother."

"No, no, it's all right, leave him alone." Wei Wuxian leans on Lan Wangji's shoulder. "I'll just enjoy this now."

And so they sit together and watch the sun dip below the treeline, quietly, aware of the passage of each moment disappearing along with the daylight. When the sun is gone, Wei Wuxian lets out a little sigh. It's not that he's sad, so much. He's just feeling heavy with the knowledge that he might not see the sun from this vantage point for a very long time.

Lan Wangji squeezes his shoulder and lowers his head to brush a kiss against Wei Wuxian's hair. It's just a momentary thing, but somehow it fills Wei Wuxian with happiness. That's right -- it will never be the same as when he was a child, but when he was a child he didn't have *this*. He lifts his chin to face Lan Wangji, to say something, he doesn't know what, but Lan Wangji leans in and kisses him before he can.

Wei Wuxian's eyes flutter closed. He doesn't need a thing other than this, just a soft, lingering kiss like the last rays of sun on the water. He's content to feel the touch of Lan Wangji's lips, the gentle sureness of his hands. For once, he doesn't crave more.

The kiss ends. Wei Wuxian opens his eyes. "Lan Zhan," he says, his voice soft, "I really love you so much."

Lan Wangji's eyes widen, and there's a flash of steel in his gaze. He tugs on the back of Wei Wuxian's neck and pulls him into a very different kind of kiss.

This kiss has purpose, deepening quickly and sending flushes of heat through Wei Wuxian's body. He sits on Lan Wangji's lap, straddling his waist, and they kiss again. Lan Wangji's hands move feverishly on Wei Wuxian's skin, and Wei Wuxian gets the feeling he's about ten seconds away from laying him out on the wooden slats of the pavillion and having him right there. 

"AUGH!"

Wei Wuxian jumps to his feet. Lan Wangji turns. Jiang Cheng is standing on the walkway several feet from the pavillion, and his face is buried in his hands.

"Jiang Cheng...!" Wei Wuxian has no idea what to say.

"I came ... to tell you dinner ... but ... oh, god, my EYES!" And Jiang Cheng turns tail and runs all the way back toward the main buildings.

Lan Wangji looks back at Wei Wuxian. "Dinner?" he says, and there's a touch of amusement in his voice.

"Let's give him a few minutes to calm down first," Wei Wuxian says with a laugh. "Then, yes, dinner."

It's a very awkward dinner.

and 1) Wen Ning

They return to Cloud Recesses a few days later. As they return to the Jingshi, stepping through the gate into the small courtyard, Wei Wuxian snuggles against Lan Wangji's side, full of fondness and a surprising sense of delight at being back home after time away. Yunmeng was wonderful and full of memories, but this is his and Lan Wangji's space, their small palace in the mountains. Here, they can move without restraint; every stepping stone and blade of grass is familiar. It's like a vise on his heart has been loosened.

Lan Wangji looks down at him with gentle affection in his eyes. When Wei Wuxian darts upward to take a soft kiss from those lips, Lan Wangji winds his arms around him and holds him there. They kiss in the low light, shadows falling all around them, keeping them safe.

"We should continue this inside," Wei Wuxian whispers. Lan Wangji responds with a "Mn" and a nod. They turn toward the front stoop of the Jingshi.

"Wei-gongzi."

Wei Wuxian jumps. Wen Ning is just outside the courtyard gate, fingers on the slats. He's smiling.

"Wen Ning, what the hell are you doing here? How did you get in?"

Wen Ning proudly holds up a jade token of passage. "A-Yuan gave it to me."

"Oh." Wei Wuxian heaves a sigh of resignation. "And? What did you come for?"

A corpse can't blush, but between Wen Ning's unsteady pose and the way he gazes at Wei Wuxian through upturned eyes, it's easy to see he's a little nervous. "I know that you and Hanguang-Jun have had trouble getting ... some time alone. So I thought I'd maybe wait outside this gate and keep people away for you. So you can ..." He looks away. "Sorry, maybe this is too much, I'll just go."

"Wait. Wen Ning."

Wei Wuxian is hit by a wave of affection. Wen Ning tries so hard, and he wants so badly to help. Wei Wuxian is a little concerned that he's taken up the habit of following them around again, but they can discuss that another day.

He walks up to the gate. "That would be very helpful, Wen Ning. Thank you." He shoots a look at Lan Wangji, who is carefully holding back a smile. "We'll just go inside, and you can keep watch until you don't feel like it anymore. Okay?"

"Yes!" Wen Ning nods vigorously. "You can count on me." He turns and assumes a pose outside the gate like he's guarding a castle.

Wei Wuxian wanders back to where Lan Wangji waits, biting back his own laughter. "You hear that, Lan Zhan?" he says. "No interruptions, guaranteed."

"It's a very kind offer," Lan Wangji says. "We should take advantage of it."

"I couldn't agree more." Wei Wuxian takes his hand. They step inside and shut the door against the outside world. Tonight, they won't stop for anything.

#stuff tippy wrote #wangxian #wangxian fic #mdzs #mdzs fic

[painsthegame]

Whump-themed Character Number Meme

So, last night I was reminiscing about the peak era of Deviantart back in like 2013 and I came across some of these little “character number memes” I used to fill out for fun. I remember always looking for whump-themed ones and not being able to find any, so in the spirit of nostalgia I decided to make one myself!

For those of you who haven’t seen one of these before, it’s basically a little prompt list that you fill out using randomized characters. Without looking at the questions beforehand, you assign a character to each number at the top. It works best if the characters are all from the same source/universe. Then, you go through each prompt or question and replace the number with the corresponding character and viola! You’ve got some weird prompts/scenes to think about or try and write out!

My favorites were always the ones that followed some sort of storyline so maybe I’ll make one of those later if people enjoy this one. But for now, here’s a loose collection of random scenes. Feel free to write them out or use them however you like. You don’t have to use the randomization mechanic if you don’t want to (though I found that it challenges how I think about certain characters and their relationships which is always cool) and remember to have fun :) I’d love to see what y’all make of it.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

[2], [3], and [6] are lost in a cave together. A wall collapses, leaving [3] pinned under rocks in a small space with [2] and [6] blocked off from them on the other side. There is hole through the wall only big enough to pass through something the size of a flashlight. How do they get out of it?

[7] falls down a flight of concrete stairs, where [1] later finds them struggling.

[4] is attacked by a mage whose powers allow them to fight someone using their greatest fears. How do they try to defeat [4]?

[1] and [5] are brainwashed and instructed to fight each other. What happens? Can [3] snap them out of it in time, or do the other two turn on them?

[5] is a robot in dire need of repairs before they shut down. Who do they go to for help?

A villain has captured [1] and [3] and are forcing [4] to choose which one lives and which one dies.

[2] is now being tormented by someone from their past.

The apocalypse occurred recently and survival is extremely difficult for the small amount of people who were left alive. The first living person [5] encounters after the event is [7], and now they must work together.

[6] gets drafted.

A mob boss or other villainous criminal with plenty of resources to spare is now after [2].

When [3] loses their memory, [1] and [6] are in charge of helping them regain it.

A villain kidnapped [5] and is making them choose which limb they’d like to have amputated.

[4] sees [2] having a horrible nightmare.

[3] is the only one there to comfort [7] after a traumatic experience. How does that go?

[4] is kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnapper sends a ransom video to both [6] and [7].

[3] hasn’t slept in 3 days. Who notices?

[5] gets their leg stuck in a bear trap.

As gladiators, [6] and [2] are forced to battle to the death in the colosseum before a raving crowd. [7] is watching from the sidelines, knowing they are next in line to fight the winner.

[4], [1], [6], and [3] are robbing a bank. A trap is set for them and [1] gets shot.

[5] is secretly a medium, and thus is the only one who can see the spiteful spirit that has been haunting [4].

[1] and [7] get into a brutal car accident.

[2] is poisoned with food meant for [6].

[1] has been having dreams about [5] that always seem to come true. What happens when they start having dreams of [5] dying a horrible death?

[2], [3], and [7] are in prison. [1], [4], and [5] are trying to help them escape.

During said escape, [7] gets stabbed. Can they make it out in time?

That’s all I have for the time being, I hope you all can have some fun with this. I had fun making it :)

#whump #whump prompts #character number meme #whump community #whump tropes #whump scenes

[startanewdream]

Teenage behaviour

For @sweeethinny​ ‘s amazing prompt: ‘Instead of Harry seeing Molly's boggart, he sees Lily's, and faces him and his father dead on the floor, while his mother panics’.

Thanks again for this prompt! I always love to explore Lily and Harry’s relationship!

Read on AO3 or below the cut:

______________________________

Harry's smile doesn't reach his eyes.

Lily has been stealing glances in his direction all night, ever since she got home from her shift, and even though he is talking and eating and acting normal, she can see there is something restrained about him.

She looks around, trying to understand what is dampening his mood - not that it would need much lately, but still, he should be more thrilled about returning to Hogwarts tomorrow, especially considering their fear that he would be expelled. Everything seems normal, though. The kitchen is full of people talking and drinking, enjoying that last-minute party, and everyone's mood seems better than usual. She sees Ron listing the qualities of his new broom to Tonks, while Hermione is talking with Remus about her project of rights for house-elves. Both Ron and Hermione are still beaming because of today’s news.

She raises her eyes to the banner Molly hanged over the dinner table. That brings a warm smile to her lips; Molly had sounded more cheerful than Lily had seen her all summer when she had told proudly of Ron being made a prefect.

Then her eyes fall on Harry again. He is looking wistfully at the banner, with just a hint of guilt shining in his eyes.

Understanding hits her.

He wanted to be a prefect.

That doesn't make much sense for her, considering how Harry always inspired himself in James and how much Harry doesn’t seem to particularly care for authority figures, but there is disappointment and hurt in his eyes, no matter how much he tries to hide it.

Maybe it was some expectation that Dumbledore would choose him? Or he feels that people don’t trust him anymore? Or maybe he is feeling like he let his parents down for not being a prefect?

Whatever it is, she will have to do something about it. This would be easier if James was there that night - Harry does have a tendency to always hear whatever his dad says -, but since he is away on Order duty tonight, Lily will handle it alone. 

She looks around once more before locating Sirius and Ginny talking animatedly to each other; they are close enough to Harry so he will be able to hear them talking, so she approaches them.

‘Aubrey’s head was twice the normal size’, Sirius is saying, opening his hands to emphasize it, almost hitting Lily. ‘Oh, sorry, Lily’.

‘No harm done’, she says lightly. ‘Are you telling the infamous balloon head prank?’

‘I will let you know it’s one of the best Marauders pranks to date’, Sirius replies, seeming very proud of himself.

‘Don’t believe him, they originally wanted Aubrey’s head to shrink’, she tells Ginny conspiringly, making Ginny smirk. ‘And they didn’t even try to hide it, it led them directly into detention. No wonder you never made prefect’.

She knows Harry is looking in their direction, but she pretends to not notice.

‘Can you imagine, you and James as prefects?’

Sirius shudders, putting his hands over his heart and looking properly scandalous, just as Lily knew he would be.

‘We would never! Plus we would have to give ourselves detentions on a daily basis’.

‘Like Remus ever gave you any’, she scoffs playfully.

‘Well, he could turn a blind eye on us sometimes. Ok, most of the time’, Sirius concedes when Lily just raises her eyebrows. ‘But I remember a certain Head Girl doing the same’.

Lily laughs shamelessly.

‘If I didn’t catch you, how could I do anything? And with James as Head Boy, you certainly learned to avoid being caught’.

‘It sure helps when your best friend is Head Boy and decides the patrolling routes’, Sirius agrees, grinning.

‘Hang on’, Ginny says, frowning. ‘James was a Head Boy? Your James?’

Lily sees Harry joining their circle and she smiles to herself.

‘Yeah, we were as shocked as you when we found out’, says Sirius dramatically.

‘But he wasn’t a prefect -’

‘Head Boy and Head Girl may have been prefects, but if the headmaster thinks someone else should be, he can choose’, Lily explains. ‘It doesn’t matter whether you were a prefect or not, as long as you are responsible and trusting, really’.

‘You know, that was the only time I really considered telling Dumbledore we were animagi - we couldn’t let him think James was responsible -’

‘Come on’, Lily says fairly. ‘He had improved a lot by our seventh year, it made sense he would be a Head Boy’.

‘Oh, don’t tell my mum that’, Ginny pleads in a hushed whisper. ‘There is no way I will be a prefect next year, but then she might hope I get sense enough to be a Head Girl’. Ginny turns to Harry, shaking her head in fake panic, and Harry lets out an amused laugh.

They all laugh then, and Lily feels good when she sees Harry is more relaxed now as if remembering his father wasn’t prefect either is enough to raise his spirits.

She doesn’t say it and she doesn’t really mind, but she thinks Harry could be a Head Boy in a couple of years. Harry does have the leadership she saw in James in their last year at Hogwarts, even if he doesn’t mind breaking the rules now and then. But if he is not chosen, that will be fine for her too.

Lily hopes Harry understands this.

She shares a drink with Sirius, who is still telling adventures of the Marauders to Ginny, while keeping an eye on Harry. He drifts off to talk with Fred and George and Mundungus - a trio that speaks of trouble for her -, then he leaves them to sit on a chair, pretending to be busy drinking a butterbeer. His face is troubled once more and Lily resists the urge to sigh.

Harry’s changes of mood are more erratic than she can deal with these days. She always thought Death Eaters and bigotry would be the biggest challenges in her life, but now she thinks understanding teenage behaviour is much more difficult.

She throws a sympathetic look at Molly, who is yawning now, admiring the fact that Molly dealt with that seven times.

‘Oh, sorry, Lily’, Molly says, flushing. ‘I just woke up so early today…’

Lily smiles.

‘Go get some rest, Molly. I patch things up here later’. And when Molly opens her mouth, looking worried, Lily smiles. ‘I won’t let them stay up late, I promise’.

‘Thank you, dear. I am really tired… I’ll just sort out that boggart before I turn in -’

‘No, no, let me’, Lily offers. ‘Is that thing shaking the cabinet in the drawing room?’

‘Yes, Alastor confirmed to me tonight it’s a boggart’.

‘That’s on me then. Go rest’, Lily insists. ‘You already made too much today - helping to sort out that last-minute shopping list, this nice dinner. I’ll handle the boggart later, I will have to wait for James to come home anyway’.

Molly looks at her with a knowing expression.

‘I can never sleep before Arthur returns too’, she murmurs, and Lily is familiar with the fear shining in Molly’s brown eyes.

‘Everything is going to be okay’, she says calmly, even though they both know it is an empty promise. 

Molly bides her good night and Lily watches her go.

It really must be more difficult for her, Lily thinks. Seven children, one of them not talking with the family, and Molly already lost her two brothers in the first war. That makes the Weasley braver than her and James, she ponders; they aren’t hunted. They are choosing to be part of this war.

They really are the best family. She thanks silently the day Harry decided to sit together with Ron on the Hogwarts Express.

Speaking of her son, Mad-Eye is talking to him, showing him something, and even though Alastor looks as delighted as he can be, Harry seems to be sick.

Lily turns in his direction, determined to fix the situation again, but before she can reach them, Sirius distracts Mad-Eye and Harry escapes, crossing the kitchen in quick steps and slipping through the door before anyone can talk to him.

Great.

She walks to Mad-Eye and sees he is showing around an old photograph of the first Order of the Phoenix, that finally comes to her hand. Lily looks at herself, smiling hand-in-hand with James, and is startled to see how young they both look. Well, not just them. Everyone.

And those who are not here anymore look even younger.

She sees Marlene’s grin and Dorcas’s wistful smile and longing burns inside her for those evenings talking in the Common Room, for their girl’s night out after ending Hogwarts, for all the plans they made. They are so happy and hopeful in her memories, blissful to the fact Dorcas would face Voldemort alone, or that Marlene and all her family would perish in a fire.

She never said goodbye to any of them.

‘What were you talking about with Harry, Alastor?’, she asks in a quiet voice, returning the photo to him as if the distance can lessen the pain that photograph brings to her. She feels a little bit mad at him for bringing this photo to a party.

It’s not like she can or wants to forget all of those who died - it’s just she did not expect to see the reminder of all they lost so suddenly...

‘Just showing the boy the original group. Thought he might like it - so many stories to tell’.

Lily wonders if he told Harry the tragic end of most of those stories and she grimaces at the thought.

Harry doesn’t return so, after a while, Lily leaves the kitchen too. People are still talking animatedly and there are still a few minutes before she will have to break the party. But Lily doesn’t feel like chatting right now, so she may as well get things done. She considers going to see Harry, to check if his things are all packed for tomorrow, but he probably doesn’t want company. He is like her in that sense; prefers to be left alone to brood.

She enters the drawing room, looking around with mild interest. The children did make a good job cleaning everything up, but Grimmauld Place will never seem a happy place. Too many bad memories and dark thoughts, she thinks, as Kreacher passes behind herself, mumbling to himself and glaring at her.

Sirius forbade him of saying mudblood, but she only needs to look him in the eyes to feel the word.

There is nothing she can do about it and Lily prefers to fix on the problems she can solve anyway.

The cabinet close to the window is giving small jumps as if it’s alive. She walks to it, her mind already fixed on the remembrance of Aubrey with that big balloon head (he had really been a jerk and James and Sirius had pranked him for harassing first years muggle-borns, so she hadn’t mind laughing that time), and takes out her wand.

‘Alohomora!’

The cabinet opens and, appearing out of thin air, she sees James holding Harry as a baby, both lying in the ground, with eyes closed, pale and still. Dead.

They are dead.

Her heart beats faster and her mouth is suddenly dry, even as Lily knows this is just the boggart. It feels more like a dream, though, so she stays still for a few seconds, watching her husband and son’s corpses with a strange detachment. She really thought it would be just a dementor - and she would be ready for it this time.

But Lily supposes the memories that the dementor had arisen activated the true fear she had felt that night - that James and Harry would die while everything she could do was to watch hopelessly. Like she is doing now.

The fear creeps through her mind like smoke she can’t help but inhale, and that smoke makes her head light and dizzy, creating images in her head. She pictures how her life would be if that had happened, if Lily had taken Voldemort’s offer to stand aside while he murdered her husband and son and she was left alone. 

And lost. 

She wonders what she would have done and it’s surprisingly easy to answer. Find and kill Pettigrew, for starters, because there would be no James to hate him more than her and no son to give her other priorities. Then she would go after Voldemort; she would not rest until he was dead, no matter the cost. The boy-who-lived would be replaced by the mother-who-killed.

But then - and that is the scariest part - there would be nothing. No reason to live for. Her days would be empty and pointless, forever missing the two people she had most loved and knowing no vengeance would ever fill that hole…

‘Mum?’, she hears a voice asking, and for a moment Lily can’t really match the voice to anyone, certain she had never heard it before, that he died when he was just a baby -

She turns slowly to find Harry - her living son - at the door, looking at the dead bodies on the floor, then at her.

‘It’s a boggart’, Harry realizes. ‘Don’t - get out of here - let someone else -’

Harry looks worried for her. Somehow, this clears the smoke in her head. Lily steadies her hand and looks back at the corpses lying on the floor with nothing but determination.

‘Riddikulus!’, she says loud and clear, and the boggart turns into a man with a big blue balloon in the place of his head. Lily lets out a nervous laugh and the boggart vanishes in a puff of smoke.

Her heart is still beating faster, so Lily takes a moment to calm herself, to let all those bad feelings slip out of her; she almost jumps when she feels Harry’s hand on her shoulder. She had not heard him walking to her. 

'Mum?’, he calls very quietly. ‘Are you ok?’

'It was just a stupid boggart, Harry', she says, forcing herself to smile at him. Harry is frowning, seeing through her empty smile just as she sees through his. 'Just go to bed, tomorrow is -'

'Do you always see us?', he asks in a hushed whisper, ignoring her dismissal. 'I mean - that -'

He stops, unable to continue, and Lily feels a sudden urge to just tell him it was nothing and to let it go. She knows Harry would hate it, but he also would respect her desire to be left alone with her thoughts and fears.

But since all she’s been asking of her son lately is that he talks to her, Lily supposes she has to set the example.

'Sometimes, yes’, she admits in a low voice. ‘At other times it’s a dementor. But it’s all related to the same thing, really’.

Harry looks deep in thought and he stares at the point where the bodies were.

'It was me as a baby', he says, and Lily nods. 'But - why? I mean, I lived’.

She sighs once more and sits on the couch.

'Come here', she asks, and Harry sits opposite to her on the same couch, his legs crossed just like he used to do when he was young and was listening to one of her bedtime stories, except this time most of his leg is out of the couch. That makes her feel strangely comforted, even if she feels her eyes tearing up a little. ‘You grew up so fast’.

‘Mum -’, he starts, looking half-embarrassed as he always does when James or Lily start remembering him as a kid.

‘I am saying it like a good thing’, she promises. ‘I just feel so lucky to have witnessed it all’.

Harry seems confused.

‘Lucky?’

She looks away to where the boggart was on the floor.

‘When I think about that night - the one where you got your scar - I always remember how close we were to lose everything. How you were almost… you and James…’

‘But it didn’t happen’, he says forcefully. ‘We all survived’.

‘Yes, but back then, at the time - I didn’t think we would make it. I really thought… I really lost hope for a moment. Sometimes I still dream of that night, but my worst nightmares are… of that’. She points to the floor. ‘If somehow you and James were gone and I was left alone -’

She can’t continue. Harry breathes heavily.

‘You wouldn’t be alone, I mean, you would still have Remus and Sirius, they -’

‘Harry’, she interrupts him softly, looking back at him. He already seems distraught, but she has to make him understand. ‘I love them, of course, but how would it be if I and your father had died then? If you were raised by Remus and Sirius?’

He stays silent for a moment and Lily can see him picturing all that alternative life. Lily supposes Sirius as a figure parent is an amusing idea, but Harry doesn’t smile for a second.

‘It would never be enough’, he whispers at least. ‘They would never replace you’.

‘They would never try to, I am sure, but... This is it. A life without you and your father would be just - just empty for me. And that’s what I fear the most. That I would be too weak that night and that I had to watch you both dying’.

‘You are strong’, Harry says resolutely, grabbing her hand and squeezing it, though Lily can’t tell if he is doing that for her sake or his own, to also confirm to him that everything is alright. ‘I - I heard what happened’.

‘What do you mean?’

Harry looks abashed, and he lowers his eyes.

'That’s why dementors hit me so hard. The thing I hear when they are near… It’s that night. Bits of it, but I hear... You and Voldemort. You plead for me, and he - he laughs and tells you to stand aside, but you refuse. You always refuse’.

Lily blinks, feeling the blood leaving her face.

'You never said anything’.

'I didn't want to upset you', Harry whispers. 'I know you don't like remembering it'.

She gives him a tiny smile despite everything. She never told him about her own worries, but Harry probably noticed how even though she didn't have any problem explaining about Voldemort, only James would talk to him about that Halloween night.

Harry sees more than people give him credit for.

'You could have told me', she says softly. 'It is not your job to worry about me, Harry'.

'But I do', he admits. 'I don't want anything to happen to you'.

There is a desperation in his voice now, like if he is really afraid something could happen with her and, with a jolt, Lily realizes they never really talked about what happened earlier that month, about how Harry drew away the dementors from her.

About how he needed to do it because she had frozen.

'I am sorry to have scared you', she says tenderly.

'It's not - I wasn't really scared with that boggart'.

Lily believes him. Harry seems to think his father is invincible and he is too selfless to regard his own death as something to be afraid of.

'I meant about the dementors a few weeks ago. And if somehow you thought I couldn't handle that boggart right now'.

Harry blinks.

'I didn't think that', he says slowly, and Lily knows he is considering his own feelings on the matter. 'I mean - I know what you are capable of'.

'I just don't want you thinking that you need to take care of me. I am the parent here. That's my job'.

'I don’t want to lose you’, he whispers guiltily, as if somehow even thinking about it should be wrong. ‘I wouldn’t - I don’t know how I could cope if -’

Harry looks so fragile right now that she does the simplest thing. She stretches her legs, in an offer, and Harry lies down, placing his head on her lap, allowing her to caress his hair like she used to do when he was young, until he would fall asleep.

‘I won’t live forever, Harry’, she says softly. ‘Someday you will be without me - and really, that’s what I hope for’. When he looks startled, she adds with a smile: ‘That you get to live longer than me. That you get a full happy life’.

‘It will only be happy if you are there’, he insists. ‘You and dad. You -’, he stops, closing his eyes as if he doesn’t want her to see more of his emotions than he is already letting it show on his voice. ‘You need to be careful. I know you are good, but - sometimes people are just in the wrong place in the wrong time’.

She knows what he is talking about and she remembers seeing Harry and Cedric Diggory leaving together for the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, both looking thrilled that it would be over soon and that one of them might win the Tournament.

And she remembers when they all noticed something was off, when there were whispers of a dead champion and how she had feared so much that it would be Harry… And the guilt she’d felt later when she was just relieved that it wasn’t him.

The good die young, her mother used to say somberly when she saw news of a tragedy.

Lily thinks about the photograph of the old Order, of hope and dreams that mattered none when the people were dead, and she finally understands what upset Harry enough to make him leave the dining party.

‘Moody told you what happened with people from the first Order of the Phoenix’, she says.

Harry bits his lips, looking away from her.

‘I can’t promise you me and your father will make it through this war, Harry’, she says slowly, wishing she could lie to him about it. ‘But I can assure you that we will make everything we can to live… and if not, we will always be with you, you do know that, right?’

She touches his chest, right above his heart, and Harry trembles.

‘I know’, he concedes at least, but there is sorrow in his eyes. Then he looks back at her. ‘Moody told me about the Prewetts and Benjy and the Longbottoms and… I recognized Marlene from that photo in your office. You never told me her whole family had died too’.

‘It was just too painful’, Lily sighs. ‘It was just after your first birthday, when we were already hiding and I remember thinking... maybe I should have done something, I should have protected her -’

‘It was not your fault!’, Harry cries, looking appalled that she feels like that.

Lily refrains herself of pointing out the irony there.

‘I know. It’s Voldemort’s fault’, she pauses, looking at the eyes that are a mirror to hers. ‘Everything that happened. Blame him, blame the people who think like him and allow him to ascend to power, but never blame anyone else’.

Harry blinks and doesn’t answer her. 

‘We are better prepared this time’, she tells him, still playing with his hair gently. ‘It will not be like in the First War - we started too late then and we were too few. Now - now we have a better idea of what we need to do, of what he’s after -’

‘The weapon’, he says, and Lily remembers their first night in Grimmauld Place and what little they had told Harry. They never really said it was a weapon, but if Harry thought so, it was for the better.

He didn’t need to hear about that prophecy, not yet. It would give him the wrong ideas probably.

‘Among other things’, she says vaguely. 

He sits again, looking rather upset at her.

‘You really won’t tell me?’

‘That’s not your burden to care, Harry. Not now. I know you don’t like to hear that and I know you don’t think it’s fair, but… when you are older. Of age, at least. After school. If there is still a war going on then… then we can talk about you joining the Order and knowing things’.

Harry doesn’t look like he believes her. ‘You would just not care if I joined the Order? Simple as that?’

‘I will care’, she guarantees, running a hand nervously through her hair as James would have done. ‘But I won’t forbid you. No one forbade me, it wouldn’t be fair if I tried to stop you’.

He still looks suspiciously, but Lily just returns his gaze without blinking. She is telling him the truth; sure, she will do everything she can so that Voldemort can be finished before he is of age, but if he is seventeen and the war is still happening, she knows she won’t be able to stop him.

Like her, Harry never refrains from doing the right thing and she taught him to never stand for prejudice.

‘And until then? What do I do? Just sit here waiting?’, he asks, but for once he doesn’t sound like he is fighting with her.

‘Of course not. You can study’. When Harry grimaces, she smiles. ‘Everything you do in school is important. Every lesson - yeah, even Potions, don’t give me that look. You study and you use it to prepare yourself. Not just you, but Ron and Hermione too. All of you must be ready for what happens outside. Life won’t be like in school all the time, where you know when a spell will hit you or that when the bell rings you are safe’.

Harry bits his lips, looking thoughtful.

‘I know it’s not. I mean - for the Triwizard Tournament I learned a lot of spells and how to cast them, but - when it comes to the real thing, when -’, he takes a deep breath. ‘- when I was in the graveyard with Voldemort, it’s not like in school. It’s just your guts and instinct and - and trying to survive’.

This is the most Harry has said about the night of Voldemort’s resurrection to her and, for the first time, Lily wonders if she really wants to know. Just thinking about the desperation he must have felt fighting for his life…

He survived, she tells herself. You won’t be able to keep him under your wings forever, so you give him all the skills you can. You make sure he will be ready.

‘That is it, Harry. Promise you will take your studies seriously this year. Not just because of the OWLs, but because you know what’s happening out here, even if everyone else is denying it’.

He looks solemnly as he gives a tiny nod to her.

‘I will. And I will make sure others are prepared too. I - I don’t want - what happened to Cedric - to ever happen again’.

She smiles serenely to him, even as she remembers Amos Diggory’s cries and thinks darkly he won’t be the last parent to despair for his child in this war.

The good die young.

‘Are you going to stay here?’, he asks, distracting her from her grim thoughts. Lily sighs.

‘No, I promised Molly I would make sure everyone is in their bed not too late. You know how chaotic September 1st can be. And then -’

‘Then?’

‘I will just stay up a little bit longer’.

Harry looks at her as if he can see all that she is not telling him.

‘Dad will be home late?’ he asks, though it doesn’t really seem a question. Lily just sighs, confirming it. ‘I could keep you company’.

Lily smiles more warmly now.

‘You can go rest, Harry, it’s no problem. I’ll just make myself a tea and wait in the kitchen’.

‘I’m not sleepy’, he assures her. ‘I haven’t been sleeping much. I keep having the weirdest dream, really… And, well, I thought we could make some hot chocolate’.

That brings a warmth to her that has nothing to do with the beverage. She thinks of late nights with James and Harry, especially in winter, when they would make hot chocolate and share it in front of the fireplace in their house.

That kind of silly small moments that never seem important as you are living them, but somehow they turn into your favourite memories.

‘With whipped cream?’, she asks, her voice lighter now, and Harry smirks, making his resemblance to James more evident.

‘You can even put a little bit of brandy and I won’t tell anyone’.

She blushes, getting up. ‘I have no idea what you are talking about’.

‘I’m fifteen, mum, I get it now what was the medicine in your chocolate’.

‘When did you get so smart?’, she asks playfully, taking his arm so they can descend the stairs together to the kitchen. ‘Anyway, no alcohol for you’.

‘Spoilsport’, he complains without any real malice. ‘When will I get to drink?’

‘If you are still asking me, Harry, then you are still too young, trust me’, Lily answers grinning.

Harry shakes his head, mumbling to himself almost indignantly but this is such a normal teenage behaviour that Lily will take it without complaining. That’s the kind of thing she wants him to be worried about.

She kisses him softly on the cheek before they enter the kitchen, knowing Harry would be too embarrassed to be seen receiving a kiss from his mother in front of everyone - another very usual teenage behaviour -, and smiles to herself.

‘Thanks for the company’, she says later, when they are alone in the kitchen after sending everyone to bed.

‘Anytime, mum’, he promises, filling his cup with whipped cream, while they accommodate themselves to wait for James to come home.

#Jily Lives #Jily Fanfic #Harry Potter #Lily Potter #Lily Potter is a good mother #Harry and Lily moments #angst with a happy ending #t: fanfiction #Eyes glistening

[doridoripawaa]

Time was fickle, with too much power in her hands

Leaving foolish mortals subject to her demands.

One never seemed to know just how much time had passed

Or which breath they breathed would become their very last.

Relentlessly, the sands of time had flowed each day

And the lives these twins should have shared, drifted away.

When they should have been together, they were apart

Until they ceased to understand the other’s heart.

Fate would have denied them a chance to live at all.

But they faced their demons with their chins held tall.

Side by side, the star-crossed twins had once again met

And acted together without any regrets.

Now reunited, only one question remained.

The time the brothers had lost… could it be regained?

~~~

“...ran.”

A gentle voice, accompanied by a pair of warm, tender golden eyes.

“Saeran.”

A little shake of the shoulders accompanied the whispers this time.

“I know you aren’t sleeping, Saeran.”

As dawn’s light poured in through the windows, a young man with snow-white hair groaned and flitted his eyelids open. The soft pinks, oranges, and yellows of the outside that filtered in through the windows was enough to illuminate the eager, but fretful, face poised over his sleeping body. His emerald eyes narrowed as he scrutinized that face, which was finally starting to fill out around the edges again after the travesty he had endured. Apparently Honey Buddha chips and PhD Pepper could, actually, be beneficial for one’s health.

“I’m…” Saeran closed his eyes again and turned over onto his side, away from that burning golden gaze. “I’ll sleep now, Sae… Saeyoung.” The name felt bizarre on his lips, as if it were a name he wasn’t uttering himself. He knew it had been a great source of comfort in his youth, but after so many years of lies and deception, Saeran… had a lot to unlearn and relearn, to say the least. He still struggled to look directly at Saeyoung’s face, the face that reminded him of their past.

“Come onnn,” Saeyoung whined, and a small smile began to tug at the edges of the younger twin’s lips. Even though he wasn’t facing him, Saeran could easily picture the redhead’s lower lip sticking out in a pout and his freckled nose wrinkled up in frustration. “The sky is awake, so let’s wake up, Saeran.”

“Big talk coming from someone who also didn’t sleep,” Saeran commented casually, and he tried to pull up his blankets to cover his face.

The older twin, however, was not having any of his brother’s sass this morning.

“Rise and… shine!” Saeyoung chirped, and before Saeran could react, he grabbed onto the younger twin’s blankets and ripped them clean off of his body, giggling gleefully as he did so.

Saeran groaned inwardly (and perhaps outwardly, judging from the way Saeyoung was smirking at him) and pulled himself upright into a sitting position. The absence of blankets certainly would not stop him from sleeping, but candidly, he knew that his restless night wasn’t about to end in slumber anyway. He was trying to catch up on his years of sleep debt--he really was--but old habits die hard, and he was still the type of person who’d rather finish all of his tasks before taking any rest for himself.

Letting people down was the last thing that Saeran ever wanted to do.

He had taken up the torch of living for himself, but that did not mean that he suddenly stopped caring for all of the other people in his life. And despite everything, despite everything…

Saeyoung was near the top of his list of people he wanted to protect.

“You’ve got me,” Saeran conceded with a sigh, earning a hearty “yahoo!” from his brother. “Well, now that we’re both up,” he went on, brushing his bangs out of his minty eyes, “what did you have in mind for us for today?” He couldn’t be exactly certain of what his brother had planned; the elusive 707 was a mysterious, curious little cat, always sneaking this way and that. He must have had some sort of scheme up his sleeve, and Saeran was going to end up being dragged into it. He was happy to see Saeyoung being so playful, so mischievous, so cheerful again… but he could also be a bit of a headache.

“Fufufu,” Saeyoung chuckled, and his twin could have sworn that he saw a tail flicking eagerly behind him, “you see… I have nothing planned!” He put his hands behind his head and struck a wide grin at his brother. “Nothing at all!”

Confusion. Consternation. Curiosity.

Saeran narrowed his minty eyes at Saeyoung suspiciously. “Then… why are we awake?”

That, of course, was a question to which both of them knew the answer but neither of them wanted to vocalize it.

“Well, I just thought…” Saeyoung began, and then his arms dropped to his pockets, and his glittering golden gaze suddenly became clouded over with a hint of embarrassment. Embarrassment? Was Saeyoung… flustered? “I promised all those years ago that we would get to live freely, that we would get to do what we wanted.” A soft laugh slipped from his lips, but it was a sorrowful, pitiful sound, rather than a joyous one. As he lowered his head, Saeran couldn’t quite make out the expression in his eyes; the sunrise was reflecting off his glasses, obscuring his eyes--and his true feelings--beneath. “Well, the time has finally come!” He lifted his head and beamed at his twin again. “You’re in charge today, bro. Tell me how you want to spend the day!”

Saeran couldn’t shake this anxious feeling that crept up along his spine, sending a gentle shudder throughout his body. “Can… can we bring--”

“Brotherly bonding day!” Saeyoung interrupted him, and he folded his arms over his chest. “You. Me. That’s all.” His cheeks were nearly as red as his fiery curls, but Saeran could see how desperately he was trying to conceal just how uncomfortable and awkward he actually felt. The younger twin couldn’t help but admire his brother’s spirit; his ability to find laughter in even the darkest moments was a quality that had served him well.

“I’m in charge, then?” Saeran asked, looking for reassurance. He still felt his hair stand up and his nerves begin to prickle whenever he got too close to Saeyoung, but he was desperate to get over these feelings of dread. This was his beloved brother, his closest companion, his absolute ally. A day to catch up on lost time sounded… almost too good to be true. “Then, you’d better wear something comfortable.” Now a smirk played onto Saeran’s lips as Saeyoung tipped his head to the side curiously. “Be ready in 30 minutes.”

~~~

Through glades and underneath trees, traveled the twins

The elder being led by the younger one’s whims.

As birds chirped above and squirrels chattered in the trees,

Saeyoung couldn’t help but look at Saeran with glee.

“Are we there yet?” Saeyoung asked, but Saeran’s reply

Was but a shake of his head and an amused sigh.

“Be patient,” he murmured with a chuckle so soft,

That Saeyoung felt his heart soar high and aloft.

But then Saeran stopped, and with a smile on his face,

Turned ‘round and whispered, “Welcome to my happy place.”

The pair entered a field that was vibrant with life.

Of blooms, buds, and blossoms, the gorgeous field was rife.

“I come here when I need to breathe,” Saeran explained.

“When the world is getting tough and my heart feels pained.”

Just then, to the younger twin’s cheeks rose a soft blush,

“I want to share it with you,” he said in a hush.

Touched to his core, Saeyoung clutched his chest with his hand.

His brother had trusted him with this secret land!

“I want to make a crown for my lover, you see,

And I figured I’d let you accompany me.”

That was all Saeyoung needed to hear, ‘fore he said, “Let’s make beautiful crowns for your beloved’s head.”

As the sun traveled across the sky through that day,

The twins sat making flower crowns in their lil glade.

After making many wreaths of roses and mums,

Hunger began to rumble in both of their tums.

“If it wouldn’t be a hassle,” Saeran began,

“Not too far from here, I know of an ice cream stand.”

One twin wore a crown of lilac, one of aster,

As they raced to the shop to see who was faster.

One opted for strawberry, one for vanilla,

And they sat to watch folks from the nearby villa.

The sun was on the horizon, with bright pink rays,

To signal that the end was coming to the twins’ day.

As the first few stars twinkled in the growing night,

“Let’s head back,” Saeyoung prompted with a smile so slight.

Upon their return, the two climbed up to the roof,

One with a huge grin, the other a bit aloof.

But both were enchanted as they pointed up high,

Tracing constellations in the evening sky.

Saeyoung dared to turn his attention to Saeran,

And what he saw made his heart flutter yet again.

His twin was smiling, looking genuinely glad

As though the day with his brother weren’t half bad.

“Saeran,” Saeyoung whispered, his voice but a mumble.

“Thank you for today,” he said with a smile humble.

Saeran turned and replied, much to Saeyoung’s surprise

“Thank you, Saeyoung,” with a glimmer in his mint eyes.

~~~

A pair of flower crowns sat on the counter as the two brothers began to settle in for the night. Saeyoung yawned and stretched, ready to just fall asleep in his green pullover hoodie instead of actually changing into any pajamas. He wasn’t exactly sure how a day of weaving flowers and eating ice cream had taken so much of his energy, but he was willing to attribute that to a lack of sleep from the night before.

Well, a lack of sleep plus the constant fear gnawing at him that his brother secretly still loathed him and that he was just masking his fury and frustration as humility and timidity. Saeyoung had proposed the bonding day just as much for Saeran’s sake as for his own; they needed to make up for lost time, to try to reach out and understand one another again. Once they had been so close, they had been the other’s only ray of light in a world that constantly tried to snuff them out in darkness.

Now? He wasn’t exactly sure where they stood. Saeyoung didn’t know if he could ever again become that guiding light, that lighthouse in the night. But maybe, just maybe, he could be a candlestick, with a little flicker of hope, light, and warmth that could help lead his brother to safety and security.

‘Time for another sleepless night,’ the redhead thought, barely suppressing a sigh as he began to head towards his bedroom. “Thank you, bro,” he repeated once he saw that Saeran was also getting ready to turn in for the night. “It… it means a lot to me that you spent the day by my side.” A bit of a cheesy admission, sure, but in his efforts to change for the better, Saeyoung was trying to be more open about his feelings.

Maybe not to everyone, quite yet, but at least to his brother, his confidant.

“Well… good night, Saeran,” Saeyoung concluded at last, and he turned to open the door to the bedroom, eager to collapse and at least rest his eyelids even if sleep would never come.

A slight tug on his sleeve prompted him to stop before he ever reached the handle.

“S-S…” A soft whisper like a hiss trickled from the white-haired boy’s lips, and as Saeyoung turned his head to cast his twin a quizzical glance, he immediately noticed the vibrant vermillion that coated Saeran’s cheeks. “Saeyoung,” he managed to utter at last. “I… did not sleep at all last night,” he admitted finally, and Saeyoung almost began to worry that his brother wasn’t even breathing, judging from how red his face had become. “I kept… having nightmares.”

Saeyoung blinked sympathetically at his brother. He understood that feeling all too well. He couldn’t remember the last time he had had a full night of sleep without some sort of haunting memory creeping up in his psyche, too.

“I think… I would sleep better… if I knew that I’m not alone, that I’ll never be alone again.” His gaze softened as he drifted away into his thoughts, his memories, his feelings. “If I had a reminder that I am enough, that I have strength and courage, when I think I am alone and powerless.”

The intensity of the aquamarine gaze that bored into Saeyoung’s golden eyes almost set the older twin ablaze himself. “I need that reminder,” he admitted. “Which is why…” His voice trailed off, but he quickly regained his composure. “Saeyoung.”

“Yes?” Saeyoung chirped, standing straight at attention. What was fueling his brother’s fire?

“Would you… be my guardian angel tonight?” Saeran murmured at last. “Would you… stay by my side until I can fall asleep?”

Guardian angel. A chance to be the candlelight in his brother’s life, once again.

“Be ready in 10 minutes,” Saeyoung told him with a smirk and a wink. “I’m going to tell you a bedtime story.”

He certainly didn’t expect the day with his brother to go so smoothly.

He certainly didn’t expect the day with his brother to end like a dream.

He certainly didn’t expect the day with his brother to result in him finally getting some sleep.

But as the twins lay side by side, both passed out in slumberland, for the first time in years, they finally looked at peace with one another.

I am delighted to have written for @megami606sama 's beautiful art for the @mysme-rbb !

#ge saeran #saeran choi #saeyoung choi #Mmrbb fanfiction